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HISTORICAL SERIES— BOOK IV, PART II 






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TEN GREAT EVENTS 
IN HISTORY 



COMPILED AND ARRANGED 

By JAMES JOHONNOT 



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NEW YORK 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1887 



THE Ll*ltAEY| 

or caNGRESij 

WASHINGTON 



COPYKIGHT, 1SS7, 

By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY^ 



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PREFACE. 



Patriotism, or love of country, is one of tlie tests 
of nobility of character, l^o great man ever lived that 
was not a patriot in the highest and truest sense. From 
the earliest times, the' sentiment of patriotism has been 
aroused in the hearts of men by the narrative of heroic 
deeds inspired by love of country and love of liberty. 
This truth furnishes the key to the arrangement and 
method of the present work. The ten epochs treated 
are those that have been potential in shaping subsequent 
events, and when men have struck blows for human 
liberty against odds and regardless of personal conse- 
quences. The simple narrative carries its own morals, 
and the most profitable work for the teacher will be to 
merely supplement the narrative so that the picture pre- 
sented shall be all the more vivid. Moral reflections are 
wearisome and superfluous. 



OONTEI^TS. 



CHAPTEK PAGE 

I. — Defense of Freedom by Geeek Valor . . 7 

ir. — Crusades and the Crusaders . . . 24 

III. — Defense of Freedom in Alpine Passes . . 59 

IV. — Bruce and Bannookburn .... 83 

V. — Columbus and the New World . . .117 

VI. — Defense of Freedom on Dutch Dikes . . 145 

VII. — The Inyinoible Armada . . . .166 

VIII. — Freedom's Voyage to America . . . 196 

IX.— Plassey; And how an Empire was Won . . 220 

X. — Lexington and Bunker Hill . . . 244 



TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 
DEFEJ^SE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 

1. The great events in history are those where, upon 
special occasions, a man or a people have made a stand 
against tyranny, and have preserved or advanced freedom 
for the people. Sometimes tyranny has taken the form 
of the oppression of the many by the few in the same 
nation, and sometimes it has been the oppression of a 
weak nation by a stronger one. The successful revolt 
against tyranny, the terrible conflict resulting in the 
emancipation of a people, has always been the favorite 
theme of the historian, marking as it does a step in the 
progress of mankind from a savage to a civilized state. 

2. One of the earliest as well as most notable of these 
conflicts of which we have an authentic account took 
place in Greece twenty-four hundred years ago, or five 
hundred years before the Christian era. At that time 
nearly all of Europe was inhabited by rude barba- 
rous tribes. In all that broad land the arts and sciences 
which denote civilization had made their appearance only 
in the small and apparently insignificant peninsula of 
Greece, lying on the extreme southeast border adjoining 
Asia. 

3. At a period before authentic history begins, it is 
probable that roving tribes of shepherds from the north 



8 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

took possession of the hills and valleys of Greece. Shut 
off on the north by mountain ranges, and on all other 
sides surrounded by the sea, these tribes were able to 
maintain a sturdy independence for many hundi^ed years. 
The numerous harbors and bays which subdivide Greece 
invited to a maritime life, and at a very early time, the 
descendants of the original shepherds became skillful 
navigators and courageous adventurers. 

4. The voyages of ^neas and Ulysses in the siege of 
Troy, and those of Jason in search of the golden fleece, 
and of Perseus to the court of King Minos, are the myth- 
ological accounts, embellished by imagination and dis- 
torted by time, of what were real voyages. Crossing the 
Mediterranean, Grecian adventurers became acquainted 
with the Egyptians, then the most civilized people of the 
world ; and from Egypt they took back to their native 
country the germs of the arts and sciences which after- 
ward made Greece so famous. 

5. Thence improvements went forward with rapid 
strides. Hints received from Egypt were reproduced in 
higher forms. Massive temples became light and airy, 
rude sculpture became beautiful by conforming to natu- 
ral forms, and hieroglyphics developed into the letters 
which Cadmus invented or improved. Schools were es- 
tablished, athletic sports were encouraged, aesthetic taste 
was developed, until in the arts, in philosophy, in science, 
and in literature the Greeks took the lead of all peoples. 

6. As population increased, colonies went out, settling 
upon the adjacent coasts of Asia and upon the islands 
farther west. In Asia the Greek colonists were subject 
to the Persian Empire, which then extended its rule over 
all Western Asia, and claimed dominion over Africa and 
Eastern Europe. The Greeks, fresh from the freedom of 
their native land, could not patiently endure the extor- 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 9 

tions of the Persian government, to wliich their own peo- 
ple submitted without question ; hence conflicts arose 
which finally culminated in Persia taking complete pos- 
session of the Asiatic Greek cities. 

Y. But the ties of kinship were strong, and the people 
of Greece keenly resented the tyranny which had been 
exercised over their countrymen, and an irrepressible 
conflict arose between the two nations. The Persian 
king, Darius, determined to put an end to all annoyance 
by invading and subjugating Greece. Before the final 
march of his army, Darius sent heralds throughout 
Greece demanding soil and water as an acknowledgment 
of the supremacy of Persia, but Herodotus says that at 
Sparta, when this impudent demand was made, the her- 
alds were thrown into wells and told to help themselves 
to all the earth and water they liked. 

8. After a long preparation, in 490 b. c, an army of 
one hundred thousand men or more, under the command 
of Artaphemes, convoyed by a formidable fleet, invaded 
Greece. For a long time it met with little opposition, 
and city after city submitted to the overwhelming hosts 
of the Persian king. The approach to Athens was re- 
garded as the final turning point of the war. 

9. Artaphernes selected the Plains of Marathon, 
twenty-two miles to the northeast of Atliens, as the place 
of his final landing. His forces, by the lowest estimate, 
consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand men, of 
which ten thousand were cavalry. To these were op- 
posed the army of Athens and its aUies, consisting in 
all of ten thousand men. The battle-ground forms an 
irregular crescent, six miles long and two broad in its 
widest part. It is bounded on one side by the sea, and 
on the other by a rampart of mountains. At the time of 
the battle the extremities of the plain were flanked by 



10 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

swamps, diminisHng tlie extent of the front, and hamper- 
ing the operations of the larger army. The command of 
the Greek army had been intrusted to ten generals, who 
ruled successively one day each. Themistocles, one of 
these generals, resigned his day in favor of Miltiades, 
and all the others followed his example. And so the 
battle was set, ten thousand Greeks, under Miltiades, 
against the overwhelming hosts of the enemy. 

10. The Persians, confident in their numbers, erected 
no intrenchments. They did not dream of an attack 
from the little band of Greeks. There is evidence to 
believe that they were dissatisfied with the nature of the 
battle-field they had chosen, and were upon the point of 
embarking to land at some point nearer the city. If this 
was the case, they were very rudely awakened from their 
dream of security by the movement of the Greeks. 

11. On the morning of the tenth day after leaving 
Athens, Miltiades drew up his army in order of battle. 
He was obhged to perilously weaken his center in order 
to confront the whole of the Persian army, so as to avoid 
the danger of being outflanked and surrounded. The 
Greeks began the battle by a furious attack along the 
whole line, endeavoring to close in a hand-to-hand con- 
flict as soon as possible, so as to avoid the deadly arrows 
of the Persians, and to take the advantage of their heavier 
arms. The Persians were greatly astonished when they 
saw this little band rushing against them with such a 
headlong dash, and thought that the Greeks must have 
been seized with madness. The Persian general had con- 
centrated his forces at the center, and at this part of the 
battle-field the fiery onset of Greeks was checked by 
mere weight of numbers. But at length the mighty 
Persian force moved irresistibly forward, forcing the 
Greeks slowly backward, fighting, dying, but never yield- 



DEFEASE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. H 

ing. Soon the Greek army were cut in two, and the 
Persians marched proudly onward to assured victory. 

12. But the battle was not yet over. The genius of 
Miltiades had anticipated this result. The wings of the 
Greek army, strengthened at the expense of the center, 
fell upon the weakened wings of the Persians with irre- 
sistable onset. The" invaders were forced back step by 
step, the retreat soon changing into a wild and promiscu- 
ous rout, and two- thirds of the Persian army ceased to 
exist as a fighting force. The victorious Greeks now 
turned their attention to the Persian center, falling upon 
its flanks with incredible fury. Surrounded on all sides, 
for a time the Persians maintained their old reputation 
as valiant soldiers, but nothing could withstand the im- 
petuosity of the Greeks, and soon the whole of the invad- 
ing hosts were in tumultuous retreat. 

13. The victorious Greeks pressed rapidly for- 
ward to prevent the foe from embarking, and, if possi- 
ble, to capture some of the ships. But the Persian 
archers held the victors in check until the flying soldiery 
were embarked, and the Greeks obtained possession of 
only seven vessels. But they were left in undisputed 
possession of the field of battle, the camp of the enemy, 
and an immense amount of treasure which had been 
abandoned in the precipitate flight. Six thousand four 
hundred Persian dead remained on the plain, while the 
Greek loss was one hundred and ninety-two. 

14. All Athens hastened to welcome the brave sol- 
diery. A Spartan force, on its way to join the Athenians, 
arrived too late to take part in the battle, and they quietly 
returned home. As the news spread, loud and frantic re- 
joicings were heard throughout Greece, and the name of 
Persia, so long a dread and a menace, lost much of its 
terrors. 



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DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 13 

15. But tlie battle of Marathon, and tlie victory of 
Miltiades, had a wider significance than could enter into 
the imaginations of then Hving man. It was a conflict 
between the barbarism of Asia and the dawning civiliza- 
tion of Europe, between Oriental despotism and human 
liberty. The victory rendered normal human growth 
possible, and, to use the expressive phrase of the modern 
poet — 

"Henceforth to the sunset, unchecked on its way, 
Shall liberty follow the march of the day." 

It was not for the Greeks alone, but for all ages and all 
peoples ; and in this Western World, when we celebrate 
the birth of our own country, we should ever keep in 
mind the desperate struggle at Marathon, and the valor of 
Miltiades and his Greek soldiery. 

16. But the war was not yet over. A single defeat 
did not extinguish the hopes of the Persian monarch, nor 
exhaust the resources of his empire. Herodotus says: 
" JN'ow Darius was very bitter against the Athenians, and 
when he heard the tale of the battle of Marathon he was 
much more wroth, and desired much more eagerly to 
march against Hellas. Straightway he sent heralds to all 
the cities, and bade them make ready an army, and to 
furnish much more than they had done before, both ships, 
and horses, and com ; and while the heralds were going 
round, all Asia was shaken for three years ; but in the 
fourth year the Egyptians, who had been made slaves by 
Cambyses, rebelled against the Persians, and then the 
king sought only the more vehemently to go both against 
the Egj^tians and against the Greeks. So he named 
Xerxes, his son, to be king over the Persians after him- 
self, and made ready to mai'ch. But in the year after the 
revolt of Egypt, Darius himself died ; nor was he suffered 



14: TEF GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

to punish the Athenians or the Egyptians who had re- 
belled against him." 

IT. The death of Darius gave Greece a respite, but 
the final conflict was only jDOstponed. Xerxes was weak, 
obstinate, and vain-glorious, but he inherited all his 
father's hatred of the Greeks, and he resolved upon one 
supreme effort to reduce them to subjection. For seven 
years more the whole vast Persian empire resounded with 
the notes of preparation. In 480 b. c, ten years after 
the battle of Marathon, everything was in readiness. A 
formidable fleet had been built and equipped, corn and 
military stores had been collected to a vast amount, and 
an army had gathered which, including camp followers, 
was variously estimated at from . three to flve millions. 
A bridge of boats was built across the Hellespont, and 
the Oriental horde was prepared to ravage the Grecian 
valleys like a swarm of devouring locusts. A great storm 
arose and destroyed the bridge, and the Persian despot 
ordered the Hellespont scourged with whips in token of 
his displeasure. When the bridge was rebuilt, Xerxes, 
from a throne erected upon the shore, for seven days and 
nights, watched his mighty host pass over from Asia into 
Europe. 

18. In the mean time the Greeks were preparing for 
the onset. Sparta, true to her military organization, did 
little but to bring her army to the perfection of disci- 
pline, and many of the weaker cities resolved to quietly 
submit to the invaders. The Athenians alone seemed to 
have fully understood the gravity of the situation. To 
them the rage of the Persian king was particularly 
directed, for the crushing defeat at Marathon, and Athens 
was more exposed than any other of the Greek cities. 
During the ten years Athens raised and equipped as large 
an army as her population would warrant. Every able- 



DEFENSE aF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 15 

bodied man was enrolled in the ranks. Food and mili- 
tary stores were collected, but the chief means of defense 
was a novel one, and showed the desperate nature of the 
conflict in which thej were about to engage. Under the 
wise direction of Themistocles they built a formidable 
fleet, so large that in case of emergency the whole popu- 
lation of the city could embark, and either remain afloat 
or take refuge on the neighboring islands. 

19. A congress of the cities had determined to oppose 
the approach of Xerxes at some favorable place by a 
combined army. At the head of the Maliac gulf 
there was a narrow pass, through which the Persians had 
to go, the road running between a mountain and a swamp 
which stretched to the sea ; and at one place the swamp 
came so near the mountain that there was hardly room 
for the road to run between. This is the famous pass of 
Thermopylae ; and here it was that a small army might 
block the way against any number of the enemy. Across 
this pass a wall was built, and behind it was posted the 
Greek army under the command of Leonidas, the Spartan 
king. His forces consisted of three hundred Spartans, 
seven hundred Thespians, and about four thousand more 
from the various Grecian cities. The Persians ap- 
proached, and for four days waited, expecting to see the 
Greek army disperse at the very sight of their formidable 
numbers. Bat as tliey were apparently not frightened, 
on the fifth day the Persians made an attack. For two 
days the battle continued, inflicting great losses upon the 
Persians, while the little army of Leonidas, behind their 
fortiflcations, was scarcely injured. 

20. On the third morning a renegade Greek showed 
Xerxes a path across the mountains where he could com- 
pletely turn the Greek position. The Persians were not 
slow to avail themselves of this intelligence, and toward 



16 



TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY 



the close of the third day Leonidas saw the enemy de- 
scending the mountain, ready to surround him and cut 



THEEMOPYLAI 

English Miles 







off his retreat. Acting promptly, he ordered his allies to 
leave the field before it was too late, but he, with his de- 
voted band of three hundred, were to remain, in accord- 
ance of a Spartan law which forbade a Spartan soldier 
ever to retreat from the presence of an enemy. The 
seven hundred Thespians remained with him, and the 
whole band was cut down, but not without inflicting fear- 
ful loss upon the enemy. 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 17 

21. While the passage of Thermopylae was disputed, 
the Greek fleet advanced and took position in the strait 
of Artemisium, to prevent the Persian fleet from ad- 
vancing farther into Greek waters. During the battle 
the fleets were also engaged in an indecisive conflict. A 
storm, however, arose and destroyed two hundred of the 
Persian ships. When Thermopylae fell there was no 
longer reason for defending Artemisium, and the Greek 
fleet returned to defend the approach to Athens at the 
strait of Salamis. 

22. Athens was now at the mercy of the conqueror. 
The Spartan army moved off to defend their own city. 
It was now that the wisdom of Themistocles showed 
itself. " The Athenians had no hope of being able to de- 
fend Athens, and resolved to abandon the town, and to 
remove their wives and children out of Attica to a place 
of safety. The whole population, men, women, and chil- 
dren, sorrowfully left their homes, and streamed down to 
the sea-shore, carrying what they could with them." The 
fleet took them over to Salamis and adjacent islands ; and 
when Xerxes reached Athens he found it silent and de- 
serted. A few poor or desperate men alone refused to 
depart, and had posted themselves behind a wooden forti- 
fication on the top of the Acropolis, the fortress and 
sanctuary of Athens. The Persians fired the fortifica- 
tions, stormed the Acropolis, slaughtered its defenders, 
and burned every holy place to the ground. Athens and 
its citadel were in the hands of the barbarians ; its in- 
habitants were scattered, its holy places destroyed. One 
hope alone remained to the Athenians — the ships which 
Themistocles had persuaded them to build. 

23. The fleet was anchored in the strait of Salamis, 
and beside the two hundred ships of Athens, it consisted 
of a large number from other ports of Greece. Among 



18 



TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY 



tlie Greeks there were divided counsels ; some were for 
giving immediate battle, and some were for flying from 
the thousand Persian ships now advancing upon them. 
Themistocles saw that to retreat would be ruin, and he bj 




stratagem kept every ship in its place. He sent secret 
word to the Persians that the Greek fleet would soon be 
in full retreat, and the Persian admiral sent two hundred 
vessels to blockade the farther extremity of the strait, so 
that flight was impossible. 

24. When everything was in readiness, Xerxes, from 
a throne built for him on the shore so that he might be a 
spectator of the fight, gave the signal to advance. At 
once all the long banks of oars in the thousand ships 
flashed in the light and dipped in the water. But here, 
as at Marathon, the way was narrow, and there was no 



DEFENSE OE FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 19 

chance for the display of the full power of the Persian 
fleet. In a hand-to-hand conflict they stood no chance 
with the Greeks, and Xerxes, with despair in his heart, 
saw two hundred of his best ships sunk or captured and 
many more seriously disabled, while the Greeks had 
suffered little loss. 

25. Themistocles remained all night at his anchorage, 
ready to renew the conflict on the morrow, but Xerxes, 
fearful for the fate of his bridge across the Hellespont, 
ordered the eight hundred remaining ships to sail for its 
protection, while he and his whole army marched as 
rapidly as possible for the same point. The number as- 
sembled to pass back into Asia was greatly diminished 
from the hosts which a few months before had so proudly 
marched to assured victory. Besides those lost in battle, 
thousands had perished through disease and famine. But 
the hope of final success was not entirely abandoned, and 
the Persian general, Mardonius, with three hundred 
thousand of the best soldiers of the invading army, were 
left to complete the conquest. 

26. With the retreat of Xerxes, the Athenians re- 
turned to their city, finding their temples destroyed, and 
their homes desolated, but they immediately commenced 
the work of rebuilding, and, amid rejoicings and renewed 
hopes, the city arose from its ashes. The clash of arms 
gave place to the din of industry, and the fighting soldier 
was replaced by the peaceable citizen. 

27. In the mean time, Mardonius went into winter 
quarters in the northern provinces, and during the winter 
he endeavored to effect by negotiation and bribery what 
he had failed to accomplish by arms. He succeeded in 
exciting the jealousy of several of the cities toward each 
other, so that it was difficult to bring about concert of 
action, and he succeeded in detaching Thebes entirely 



20 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

from the confederacy, and arraying it against Athens. 
The Theban force which joined his army became one of 
the most formidable foes which the alKed Greek had to 
meet. 

28. The negotiations continued through the spring, 
but as summer approached the army of Mardonius was 
on the move. Sparta was not ready to meet the invader, 
and the Athenians once more took refuge on their ships, 
ten months after their return. Mardonius took possession 
of the city, and this time effectually destroyed it ; but as 
nothing was to be gained by a further stay, he marched 
his army to Thebes, which became his headquarters. 
The Spartans were at length ready to march. They saw 
their city menaced, and their own safety demanded that 
the forces of Mardonius should be broken. 

29. With the aid of their alhes they put into the field an 
army, the largest that the Greeks ever mustered, variously 
reported as numbering one hundred thousand to one hun- 
dred and ten thousand men. These were under the com- 
mand of the Spartan king, Pausanias. In September they 
set out for Thebes, and in a few days came up to the 
Persian army, which was stationed at Platsea, a short dis- 
tance from Thebes. Here Mardonius had established a 
fortified camp to which he might retreat if defeated on 
the field. For eleven days the two armies confronted 
each other, neither anxious to strike the first blow. Then 
the supply of water for the Greek camp gave out, and 
Pausanias fell back to a better position. 

30. This movement threw the Greek army into dis- 
order, and the three main divisions became separated from 
one another. Perceiving this the next morning, Mardo- 
nius hastened with his Persians toward the higher ground, 
where the Spartan troops might be seen winding along 
under the hillside, for from the river-banks he could not 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 21 

catch sight of the Athenians, who were hidden among the 
low hills which rose from the level plain. 

31. The last momentous strife had now begnn. It 
was the custom of the Spartans before beginning a battle 
to offer sacrifice, and to wait for an omen or sign from 
heaven on the offering. Even now, when the Persians 
had advanced to within bow- shot and were ponring flights 
of arrows upon the Spartans, Pausanias offered sacrifice. 
But the omens were bad, and forbade any action except 
in self defence. The Spartans knelt behind their 
shields, but the arrows pierced them, and the bravest 
men died sorrowfully, lamenting not for death, but be- 
cause they died without striking a blow for Sparta. In 
his distress Pausanias called upon the goddess Hera, and 
the omens suddenly became favorable, and the Spartans 
with their Tegean allies threw themselves upon the 
enemy. 

32. But the disparity of forces rendered the attack 
desperate. Fifty- three thousand Greeks in all were op- 
posed to the overwhelming numbers of Mardonius. The 
Athenians were engaged elsewhere and could afford no 
assistance. The Persians had made a palisade of their 
wicker shields, behind which they could securely and ef- 
fectually use their bows and arrows. By the first fierce 
onset of the Greeks this palisade went down, but the 
Asiatics, laying aside their bows, fought desperately with 
javelins and daggers. But they had no metal armor to 
defend them ; and the Spartans, with their lances fixed 
and their shields touching each other, bore down every- 
thing before them. 

33. The Persians fought with almost Hellenic heroism. 
Coming to close quarters, they seized the spears of their 
enemies and broke off their heads. Bashing forward 
singly or in small groups, they were borne down in the 



22 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

crush and killed ; still they were not dismayed ; and the 
battle raged more fiercely on the spot where Mardonius, 
on his white horse, fought Avith the flower of his troops. 
At length Mardonius was slain, and when his chosen 
guards had fallen around him, the remainder of the Per- 
sians made their way to their fortified camp, and took 
refuge behind its wooden walls. 

34. In the mean time the Athenian army had been 
confronted by the Persian-Theban allies. Here it was not 
a conflict between disciplined valor and barbaric hordes, 
but between Greek and Greek. The battle was long and 
bloody, but in the end the defenders of Greek liberty 
were \dctorious over those who would destroy it. The 
Theban force was not only defeated but annihilated, 
and then the Athenians hastened to the support of Pau- 
sanias. While the Spartans were the best-drilled soldiery 
in Greece for the field, they had little skill in siege opera- 
tions, and the wooden walls of the Persian camp opposed 
to them an eifective barrier. 

35. While the Spartan force was engaged in abortive 
attempts, the Athenians and their allies came up fresh 
from their victory over the Thebans. Headed by the 
Tegeans, they burst like a deluge into the encampment, 
and the Persians, losing all heart, sought wildly to hide 
themselves like deer flying from lions. Then followed a 
carnage so fearful that out of two hundred and sixty 
thousand men not three thousand, it is said, remained 
alive. 

36. Thus ended this formidable invasion, which threat- 
ened the very existence of Greece. The great wave of 
Oriental despotism had spent its force without submerging 
freedom. Thenceforth the wonderful Greek energy and 
creative power might be turned away from matters mili- 
tary and expended upon the arts of peace. 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM BY GREEK VALOR. 23 

37. The Athenians returned to their citj and found 
everything in ruins. Fire and hate had destroyed home 
and temple alike. All the accumulated wealth of gen- 
erations was gone. JS^othing was left hut the iudomi- 
table energy which had been tested on so many trying 
emergencies, and the wonderful skill of eye and hand 
which came of inherited aptitude and long personal ex- 
perience. Upon the old site a new city grew in a single 
generation, marvelous in its splendor of temple and pal- 
ace, so light and airy, yet so strong and enduring, that 
after the lapse of twenty-five centuries the marble skele- 
tons, though in ruins, stand, the admiration of all men and 
of all ages. 



CHAPTER II. 
CRUSdBES AKD THE CRUSADERS. 

1. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, in tlie 
year YO of the Christian era, Palestine continued for up- 
ward of two centuries in the condition of a Roman prov- 
ince, inhabited by a mixed population of pagans, Jews, 
and Christians. In Jerusalem, temples of Yenus and Ju- 
piter were erected on the most sacred spotKS of Christian 
history ; and heathenism triumphed in the possession of 
the Holy City of two religions. On the establishment of 
Christianity in the Roman Empire by Constantine, in the 
year 321, this state of things was changed ; Palestine and 
Jerusalem became objects of interest to all Christians, and 
crowds of pilgrims visited the localities celebrated by the 
evangelists. Splendid churches were erected on the ruins 
of pagan temples, and every spot pointed out as the scene 
of the memorable events in the life of Christ and his 
apostles was marked by a chapel or house of prayer. 
Jerusalem and the Holy Land became the resort of nu- 
merous bodies of clergy, who resided in the churches and 
monasteries which the piety of the wealthy had founded 
for them. 

2. At the end of the fourth century, the gigantic Ro- 
man Empire was broken up into two, the Eastern, the 
capital of which was Constantinople, and the Western, 
the capital of which was Rome. It was to the former of 



GEUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 25 

ttese that Syria and Palestine were attached. Before the 
end of the fifth century the Western Empire had been 
destroyed by the eruption of the German races, and the 
beginnings of a new European civilization were rising 
from its ruins. Meanwhile, the Eastern remained entire, 
till aboat the year 630, when the Arabs, burning with the 
spirit of conquest infused into them by the religion of 
Mohammed, poured into its provinces. Egypt, Syria, and 
Palestine were annexed as dependencies to the great Ara- 
bic Empire of the cahphs. The religion of Mohammed 
became dominant in the Holy Land, the temples and 
chapels were converted into mosques. 

3. lumbers of pilgrims still continued each year to 
visit Palestine. In return for a certain tribute, the earlier 
caliphs permitted the Christians of Jerusalem to have a 
patriarch, and to carry on their own form of worship. Of 
all the caliphs, the celebrated Haroun al-Eashid, best 
known to ns in the stories of the '' Arabian Nights," was 
the most tolerant, and under him the Christians enjoyed 
perfect peace. 

4. Great cruelties were practised by the Fatimite ca- 
liphs, who conquered Syria about the year 980. The pil- 
grims were robbed, beaten, and sometimes slain on their 
journey, the Christian residents oppressed by heavy im- 
positions, and their feehngs outraged by insults against 
their religion. These suiferings were slight, however, 
compared with those which they endured after the inva- 
sion and conquest of Palestine by the Turkish hordes in 
1065. But recently converted to Moslemism, and there- 
fore more rude and fanatical than the other Mohammed- 
ans, these Turks wreaked their vengeance on all alike — 
Christians, Jews, and even the native Mohammedans. 

5. The news of the atrocities perpetrated by the Turks 
produced a deep sensation over the whole of Christen- 



26 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

dom, as well among the Latin Cliristians as among the 
Greek Christians, the name given to the population of 
what remained of the old Byzantine Empire. The latter 
had reason to dread that, if the Turks were not checked, 
Constantinople, their capital, would soon share the same 
fate as Jerusalem. Accordingly, about the year 1073, the 
Greek Emperor, Manuel YII, sent to supplicate the as- 
sistance of the great Pope Gregory YII against the Turks. 
Till now there had prevailed a spirit of antagonism be- 
tween the Greek and Latin churches, the former refusing 
to yield obedience to the pope of the West as the univer- 
sal head of the Church. Gregory, therefore, eagerly re- 
ceived the application of the Greek Emperor, seeing the 
promise of the final subjection of the Greek to the Latin 
Church. He resolved to give the enterprise his counte- 
nance, and to march himself at the head of an army to 
rescue the Holy Sepulchre. 

6. Gregory was prevented from ever carrying out his 
design, and the idea of a crusade gradually died away. 
Meanwhile, the Turks extended their victories at the ex- 
pense of the Greek Empire. Before the accession of the 
celebrated Alexius Comnenus to the throne in 1081, the 
whole of Asia Minor was in the possession of the Turks, 
and broken up into a number of kingdoms, the sultans of 
which soon began to quarrel among themselves. The 
disturbed state of Asia Minor greatly increased the suffer- 
ings of the pilgrims ; not one out of three returned to 
recount the story of his hardships. 

7. Among those who undertook the pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem, when the dangers attending it were the greatest, 
was a native of Amiens in France, named Peter, who had 
become a monk and an ascetic, being called from his soli- 
tary manner of life, Peter the Hermit. He arrived safely 
at Jerusalem, and visited all the scenes sacred to a Chris- 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 27 

tian's ejes. As he walked along the streets, looking at 
this and that holy spot, insolent and contemptnons Turks 
looked on and mocked him, and his spirit grew bitter 
within him, and his hand clutched itself convulsively as 
if longing for a sword. 

8. Burning with a sense of injuries sustained by the 
Christians, and the desecration of the sacred places, he 
sought the counsel of Simeon, the Greek patriarch of Jeru- 
salem. In reply to Peter's questions, he explained that 
nothing was to be expected from the Greek Empire in 
behalf of the Holy Land, the court of Constantinople was 
so dissolute and corrupt, and that the only hope was that 
the Latin princes might be persuaded to form a league for 
the grand purpose entertained by Gregory YII. " Write," 
Peter said to the patriarch, " to the pope and to all Latin 
Christians, and seal your letters with the signet of your 
office as patriarch of Jerusalem. As a penance for my 
sins, I will travel over Europe, I will describe everywhere 
the desolate condition of the Holy City, and exhort 
princes and people to wrest it from the profane hands of 
the iniidels." 

9. The letters were accordingly written, and the her- 
mit set sail with them from Joppa. Arriving in Italy he 
presented the documents to the pope, Urban II, a pupil 
and protege of Gregory YII, urging his holiness to use 
his authority, as the head of Christendom, to set in mo- 
tion a scheme for regaining the birthplace of Christ. 
Enthusiasm is contagious, and the pope appears to have 
caught it instantly from one whose zeal was so unbounded. 
Giving the Hermit full powers, he sent him abroad to 
preach the holy war. Peter departed, going from town 
to town, and from village to village, and, in the language 
of the chroniclers, " traversing the whole of Europe in less 
than a year's time." His strange and wild aspect, his 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS 29 

glittering eye, his shrill and unearthly eloquence, the 
grandeur of his theme, his pathetic descriptions of Jeru- 
salem and the Christians there, produced everywhere the 
most extraordinary sensations. '' He set out," says a con- 
temporary historian, " from whence I know not, nor with 
what purpose ; but we saw him passing through the towns 
and villages, everywhere preaching, and the people flock- 
ing round him, loading him with gifts, and praising his 
sanctity with such eulogiums, that I never remember hav- 
ing seen so great honors paid to any other man. The 
people reverenced him so that they plucked the hairs 
from the mane of his mule, and kept them afterward as 
relics. Out of doors he generally wore a woolen tunic, 
with a brown mantle, which descended to his heels. His 
arms and feet were bare, he ate little or no bread, but 
hved on fish and wine." 

10. Such being the success of the Hermit's mission, 
the pope showed his approbation of the project by sum- 
moning in the year 1095 two councils. The first of these 
was held at Placentia in March ; ambassadors from the 
Greek Emperor appeared to petition for aid against the 
Turks, and the members of the coimcil were unanimous 
in their support of the crusade. The second, the famous 
Council of Clermont, was held at the town of that name 
in Auvergne in the month of November. It was in the 
midst of an extremely cold winter, and the ground was 
covered with snow. During seven days the council sat 
with closed doors, while immense crowds from all parts 
of France flocked- into the town, in the expectation that 
the pope himself would address the people. 

11. All the neighborhood presented the appearance of 
a vast camp. Issuing from the church in his full canoni- 
cals, surrounded by his cardinals and bishops in all the 
splendor of ecclesiastical costume, the pope stood before 



30 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the populace on a higli scaffolding, erected for the occa- 
sion, and covered with scarlet cloth. A brilhant array of 
bishops and cardinals surrounded him, and among them, 
humbler in rank but more important in the world's eye, 
the Hermit Peter, dressed in his simple woolen gown. 
The pope's eloquent words touched every heart. He was 
interrupted by the united voice of the people shouting 
"God wills it! God wills it!" Hushing the joyous 
tumult with a wave of his hand, the pontiff continued : 
"Be they then your war-cry in the combat, for those 
words came from God. Let the army of the Lord, when 
it rushes upon its enemies, shout but that one cry, ' God 
wills it! God wills it!' Let whoever is inclined to 
devote himself to this holy cause wear on his breast or 
back the sign of the holy cross." From this time the red 
cross was the sacred emblem of the crusaders. 

THE FIRST CRUSADE. 

12. Following the Council of Clermont, preparations 
for invading the Holy Land began in almost every coun- 
try of Europe. The clanging of the smith's hammer, 
making or repairing armor, was heard in every village. 
All who had property of any description rashed to the 
mart to change it for hard cash. The nobles mortgaged 
their estates, the farmer endeavored to sell his plow, and 
the artisan his tools to purchase a sword for the deliver- 
ance of Jerusalem. Women disposed of their trinkets for 
the same purpose. During the spring and summer of 
1096 the roads teemed with crusaders, all hastening to the 
towns and villages appointed as the rendezvous of the dis- 
trict. Yery few knew where Jerusalem was. Some 
thought it fifty thousand miles away, and others imagined 
it but a month's journey ; while at the sight of every tower 



CEUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS, 31 

or castle the children exclaimed "Is that Jerusalem?" 
Little attempt at any organization was made, though the 
multitude had three leaders. It is said that the first 
band, consisting of twenty thousand foot, with only eight 
horsemen, were led by a Burgundian gentleman, called 
Walter the Penniless. They were followed by a rabble 
of forty thousand men, women, and children, led by Peter 
the Hermit, a medley of all nations and languages. ]^ext 
followed a band of fifteen thousand men, mostly Germans, 
under a priest named Gottschalk. These three multitudes 
led the way in the crusades, pursuing the same route, that, 
namely, which leads through Hungary and Bulgaria 
toward Asia Minor. 

13. Like their nominal leader, each of the followers of 
Walter the Penniless was poor to penury, and trusted for 
subsistence to the chances of the road. In Hungary 
they met with loud resistance from the people, whose 
houses they attacked and plundered, but in Bulgaria 
the natives declared war against the hungry horde ; they 
were dispersed and almost exterminated. Some of the 
survivors retraced their steps ; the rest, among whom 
was Walter, reached Constantinople, where they awaited 
the arrival of Peter and his companions. The Hermit, 
who had the same difiiculties to contend with in march- 
ing through Hungary and Bulgaria, reached Constantino- 
ple with his army greatly reduced, and in a most deplora- 
ble condition. Here he and Walter joined forces, the 
Hermit assuming the superior command. They were hos- 
pitably received by the emperor, but their riotous con- 
duct soon wearied out his patience, and he was glad to 
listen to a proposal of the Hermit to furnish them with 
the means of passing at once into Asia. The rabble ac- 
cordingly crossed the Bosphorus, and took up their quar- 
ters in Bethynia. Here they became perfectly ungovern- 



32 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

able, ravaging the country around, and committing in- 
credible excesses ; at length Peter, utterly disgusted and 
despairing, left them to their own guidance and returned 
to Constantinople. The bravest of them were annihilated 
in a battle fought near Nice, Walter the Penniless fall- 
ins: with seven mortal wounds. Between two and three 
thousand alone escaped, brought back to Constantinople 
by the troops of Alexius, who rescued them from the 
Turks. The emperor dismissed them, with orders to re- 
turn home, and thus ended the disastrous expedition of 
Walter the Penniless and Peter the Hermit. 

14. The fifteen thousand Germans led by Gottschalk 
never reached Constantinople, being slaughtered or dis- 
persed during their passage through Hungary. Hungary 
was also fatal to another army of crusaders, the fourth in 
order, but greatly exceeding in numbers the other three 
put together. This terrible horde, consisting of about 
two hundred thousand, swept through Germany com- 
mitting horrible outrages, especially against the Jews, 
whom they murdered without mercy. They were pre- 
ceded by a goose and a goat, to which they attributed 
divine powers. As the rabble advanced, the Hungarians 
gave themselves up for lost, the king and nobles were 
preparing to flee, when the mass fell asunder of its own 
accord. Many were slain by the enraged Hungarians. 
Some escaped to the north, a few ultimately joined the 
succeeding bands of crusaders, but the majority perished. 
Thus, within a few months, upward of a quarter of a 
million of human beings were swept out of existence. 
And they had spent their lives, without one important 
result having been accomplished, without one glorious 
feat having been achieved. 

15. This was the worst paroxysm of the madness of 
Europe, and this passed, her chivalry stepped upon the 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS, 33 

scene. Men of cool heads, mature plans, and invincible 
courage stood forward to lead and direct, not mere fanati- 
cal masses, but the gentry, yeomanry, and serfs of feudal 
Europe. These were the true crusaders. Altogether they 
formed six armies, marching separately, and at consider- 
able intervals of time. First came the army of Godfrey 
of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, the pride of his age for all 
noble and knightly virtues, immortalized by the poet 
Tasso. He had risen from a sick-bed to join the crusade, 
and sold his lordship to raise the necessary money ; around 
his standard assembled many of the best knights of the 
age. In the month of August, 1096, they commenced 
their march, through Hungary and Bulgaria. 

16. Four other chiefs of the royal blood of Europe 
also assumed the cross, and led each his army to the Holy 
Land ; Hugh, Count of Yermandois, brother of the king 
of France ; Robert, Duke of ]S"ormandy, the elder 
brother of William Eufus ; Robert, Count of Flanders, 
and Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, eldest son of the 
celebrated Robert Guiscard. With Bohemond, and second 
in command in the army, came Tancred, the favorite hero 
of all the historians of the crusade, so young, so valiant, 
so enthusiastic. There was not among them all, says 
Tasso, a greater warrior, nor any one of more courteous 
behavior, of fairer countenance, or of loftier and more 
intrepid heart. The last army was led by the haughty and 
resolute Count Raimond of Toulouse. 

17. To detail the progress of the various armies is un- 
necessary. Upward of six hundred thousand warriors of 
the West, beside a multitude of priests, women, and chil- 
dren, were at last actually encamped on Asiatic soil. It 
was literally a moving nation, in which all languages were 
spoken, all costumes worn. There was the fair-haired 
son of the north, with broad, open forehead, mild blue 



34: TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

eyes, sanguine complexion, and large frame ; there the 
dark visaged southron, with liis flashing glance and fiery 
soul ; there was the knight in his armor, the priest in his 
robes, the foot-soldier in his tough jerkin, the unkempt 
serf with his belt of rope. There were pawing horses, 
swearing grooms, carts full of provisions, sacks, groups of 
gossiping women, crowds of merry children. Under the 
bright sun of Asia, all was gaudy and brilliant. Spear- 
points glittered, breast-plates and helmets gleamed, thou- 
sands of targets displayed their painted glories, pennons 
of blue, purple, and white streamed from every tent, 
while heavier flags flapped their sullen folds ; and every- 
where, on shield, flag, helmet, tunic, and coat of mail, 
was seen blazoned the holy sign of the red cross. Walking 
through all these, heedless of the looks cast upon him, and 
hearing not the oft-repeated bugle-blasts from all parts of 
the camp, might be seen a man of small stature, thin and 
poorly clad, with down-cast face, wild, unsettled eye, and 
timid, nervous gait. It was the man who had created it 
all — Peter the Hermit. He had crossed from Constanti- 
nople with Godfrey of Bouillon. His revenge was near ! 
On, on, then, to the Holy City ! 

18. Alas, the Holy City was yet far distant! jC^ot 
much more than half their journey in point of space had 
been accomplished, and in point of difficulty and peril 
their march had little more than begun, for they had just 
entered the countries of the infidels. Months had to roll 
on, and many battles to be fought, ere the pinnacles of 
the Holy City should greet their longing eyes. 

19. The route of the crusading armies lay in a south- 
easterly direction, through Asia Minor, and then south- 
ward to Jerusalem, along the shores of the Levant. Their 
march along this route, counting from the time of their 
crossing into Asia Minor, May, 1097, to the time when 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 35 

they came in sight of Jerusalem and laid siege to it, 
June, 1099, occupied upward of two years. Countless 
were the dangers to which the crusaders were subject in 
this trial. Of the many sieges two are especially memo- 
rable, that of ]^ice and that of Antioch. 

20. The siege of IS^ice was the first exploit in which 
the crusading armies were engaged. During these six 
weeks the slaughter of the Christians, by the arrows of 
the Turkish garrison, and by the bolts and large stones 
which they discharged from mangonels and catapults, was 
immense. The city surrendered at last, not, however, to 
the Latin chiefs, but to an envoy of the Greek Emperor 
Alexius, who contrived to enter into communication with 
the besieged and induced them to capitulate. Angry and 
dissatisfied, the crusaders left their encampment and re- 
sumed their march, not in one mass, but in several bodies. 
At length the scattered armies reunited for the siege of 
Antioch toward the end of October, 1097. All the 
known means of attack were put in operation ; movable 
towers were constructed from which to discharge missiles 
into the city. The walls were battered, and the sallies of 
the besieged bravely met, still without any effective re- 
sult. At the end of ten days famine stared them in the 
face, so extravagant were they in the use of their stores. 
Pestilence joined its ravages, and instead of the brave 
army of chivalry which had sat down before Antioch, was 
to be seen a crowd of gaunt and famishing creatures, with 
scarcely a thought but that of procuring food. Multi- 
tudes died, desertions became numerous. 

21. The chiefs began to weary of the expedition, and, 
most disgraceful of all, Peter the Hermit turned his 
back on the enterprise, and had actually fied several miles 
on his way home, when he was brought back by the 
soldiers of Tancred and forced to undergo a public repri- 



36 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

mand. At length, after infinite sufferings on the part of 
Antioch was taken on the 3d of June, 1098, bj means of 
the treachery of an Armenian captain, whom the Turks 
had intrusted with the command of one of the towers, 
and who admitted a number of the crusaders during a 
dark and stormy night. 

22. Imagination can not conceive a scene more dread- 
ful than that presented by the devoted city of Antioch 
on that night of horror. The crusaders fought with a 
blind fury which fanaticism and suffering alike incited. 
]S"o quarter was shown. At daylight the massacre ceased, 
and the crusaders gave themselves up to plunder. They 
found gold, jewels, and rich fabrics in abundance, but of 
provisions little of any kind. Suddenly they were roused 
from their sloth and pleasure by the appearance before 
Antioch of an immense army, which the Persian caliph 
had dispatched to sweep the Christian locusts from the 
face of the earth. Great was the alarm of the Christians 
when they saw this splendid host of more than two hun- 
dred thousand men encamped around the hills of An- 
tioch. The corn and wine found in the city were soon 
exhausted ; all the horrors of a second famine began. 

23. Many deserted and escaped over the walls, carry- 
ing the news of the sad condition of the Christians back 
toward Europe. The worst consequence of these deser- 
tions was, that the Greek Emperor Alexius, who, hearing of 
the successes of the Latins, was on his march to assist the 
crusaders, was deterred from advancing, and returned to 
Constantinople. With increasing famine came a pesti- 
lence, so that in a short time but sixty thousand remained 
of the three hundred thousand that had invested Antioch. 
But this bitter extremity knit the leaders more firmly 
together, and Bohemond, Godfrey, and Tancred swore 
never to desert the cause while life lasted. 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 37 

24. It is said that belief in the remarkable fulfillment 
of a dream brought hope once more to the disheartened cru- 
saders. Peter Barthelmy, a priest of Provence, dreamed, 
he said, that Saint Andrew appeared to him in the night, 
and informed him that underneath a certain spot in the 
floor of the church of Saint Peter was buried the identical 
lance with which the Eoman soldiers pierced the side of 
Christ as he hung on the cross. This relic, said the ap- 
parition, was to be the guarantee of God's presence and 
their guide to victory. Twelve persons were chosen to 
conduct the search. A whole day was spent in vain, the 
workmen were tired out, and still no lance was found. 
At last Peter descended into the pit and began to dig the 
loose earth. Suddenly a cry of joy was heard, and 
stretching himself to his full height, Peter handed up in- 
to the eager fingers of those above an actual msty lance- 
head. In an instant it was noised abroad that the holy 
relic had been found. What remained now but to issue 
forth and discomfit the infidel host. 

25. The infidel host was discomfited. On the 28th of 
June, 1098, two hundred thousand Turks, in the full flush 
of health and strength, were routed, outside the walls of 
Antioch, by a half -famished Christian army. Antioch 
was bestowed upon Bohemond, and it was resolved that 
the army should remain there to recruit before advancing 
toward Jerusalem. The tragical fate of Peter Barthelmy 
must be mentioned. Many of the crusaders had begun 
to question the genuineness of the relic he had found. 
He was prevailed upon to submit to the ordeal of fire, and 
perished in the flames. From that moment the story of 
the relic lost credit. 

26. It was on a lovely morning in the summer of 
1099 that the forty thousand crusaders, who were all 
that remained of the vast army which had two years ago 



38 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

laid seige to JNice, were recompensed for all their toils by 
a sight of the Holy City, bathed in the splendor of eastern 
sunshine. The name '' Jerusalem " escaped from every 
lip ; some leaped and shouted, some kneeled and prayed, 
some wept, some threw themselves prostrate and kissed 
the earth, some gazed and trembled. "All had much 
ado," says the quaint Fuller, " to manage so much glad- 
ness." 

27. Preparations for a siege were soon under way. 
The besiegers, who had gained skill by their former at- 
tempts, employed all the methods of attack that experience 
could suggest or courage execute, while the garrison of 
forty thousand Turks, who maintained the city for their 
master, the caliph of Egypt, resisted with determined 
obstinacy. At length, after a confession of sins by the 
whole army, and a penitential procession around the walls, 
a simultaneous attack was made with battering-rams, man- 
gonels, and all manner of besieging engines. At one 
quarter a huge wooden tower was wheeled close to the 
walls, a movable bridge was let down, and, bounding across 
it, a soldier named Lutold was the first man to stand up- 
on the battlements. Godfrey of Bouillon and a number 
of knights sprang after him, and the Christians were with- 
in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, at another part of the wall, 
Tancred and Eobert of Normandy had shattered open a 
gate, and rushed in with their men ; while at a third part 
of the city, Raimond of Toulouse effected an entrance for 
himself and his followers by the help of scaling-ladders. 
In an instant after, the banner of the cross floated upon 
the walls of Jerusalem. The crusaders, raising once more 
their redoubtable war-cry, rushed on from every side, and 
the city was taken. The battle raged for several hours, 
and the Christians gave no quarter. Peter the Hermit, 
who had remained so long under the veil of neglect, was 



CRUSADES AND TEE CRUSADERS. 39 

repaid that daj for all his zeal and all his suffering. He 
was once more the idol of the army, but history is silent 
concerning the remainder of his life. 

28. Eight days after the capture of the city, the Latin 
chiefs unanimously elected Godfrey of Bouillon king of 
Jerusalem. A new Christian state was thus founded in 
Syria, consisting at first of little more than the mere city 
of Jerusalem, but extending by subsequent battles and 
conquests until it included the whole of Palestine. A 
language resembling Norman-French was established in 
this kingdom, and a code of feudal laws drawn up for its 
government. The clergy also obtained their share of the 
conquest, Jerusalem was created into a patriarchate, and 
Bethlehem into a bishopric. The foundation of the Latin 
Kingdom of Jerusalem in July, 1099, was the consumma- 
tion of the first crusade. 

29. A period of fifty years succeeded, during which 
time many battles were fought with the Saracens of Syria 
and Egypt, the result of which was to strengthen the 
Latin state. No fewer than five hundred thousand persons 
set out from Europe for Syria, incited by the news of the 
success of the first crusade. The three centers from which 
the Christian power sought to spread itself through the Mus- 
sulman possessions were Jerusalem, Antioch, and Edessa. 

30. The very spirit of the crusade seemed to have 
died out. TJie Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem had be- 
come, like any other kingdom of the period, a country in 
which men built houses, plowed land, made bargains, 
gave feasts, etc., drank, laughed, talked, quarreled, and 
went to law. The fall of Edessa, the first conspicuous suc- 
cess of the Turks, came like a surprise upon the Latin 
population of Syria. An attempt was made by the Chris- 
tians to recover the city, but it failed, and the frontier 
of Syria was open to invasion from the East. 



40 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

THE SECOND CRUSADE. 

31. Tlie fall of Edessa, and the petitions of the people 
of Palestine for aid, produced a sensation throughout 
Europe, and especially in France. Nor was an apostle I 
wanting worthy to fill the place of Peter, and to summon I 
the cliivalry of Europe to a second crusade. Commis- ' 
sioned by Pope Eugenius for that purpose, the famous 
Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux in Champagne, trav- 
^ eled through France and Germany, exerting the power of 
his marvelous eloquence in recruiting the armies of the 
cross. The chiefs of the second crusade were two of the 
most powerful princes of Europe, Louis YII, King of 
France, and Conrad III, Emperor of Germany. Under 
their command upward of one million two hundred 
thousand men, collected from all parts of Europe, marched 
toward Palestine in two great armies, early in 1147. 

32. JSTotwithstanding the vastness of the preparations, 
the expedition was a total failure. The events of the last 
fifty years had rendered the policy of the Greek princes 
hostile to the cnisades. Manuel Comnenus, the grand- 
son of Alexius, who now occupied the throne, suffered 
both armies to pass into Asia Minor, where, misled by 
Greek scouts, the army of Conrad was all but destroyed by 
the Turks, near Iconiima, while the army of Louis, after 
undergoing infinite hardships, was wrecked- in the defiles 
of the Pisidian mountains. The fragments of the two 
armies uniting made their way to Syria, where they co- 
operated with forces of the princes of Jerusalem and An- 
tioch, in laying seige to Damascus, but without effect. 
In 1149 Conrad and Louis returned to Europe, and the 
second crusade was at an end, having attained nothing 
but the expenditure of more than a million of lives. 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 41 

THE THIRD CRUSADE. 

33. A period of forty years elapsed before Europe 
fitted out another crusade. Meanwhile the struggle be- 
tween the Christian and the Turks in Syria was carried 
on without intermission. Noureddin, the son of the con- 
queror of Edessa, displayed a genius which astonished 
both Christians and Turks. Keeping possession of Edes- 
sa, he aimed at extending his conquest at the expense of 
the Christians still further. Eor some time he was kept 
in check by the abilities of Baldwin III, King of Jeru- 
salem. On his death, in 1162, his brother Amalric, far 
inferior to Baldwin in ability, succeeded to the throne. 

34. At this crisis, while Noureddin, the Sultan of 
Aleppo, and Amalric, the Christian King of Jerusalem, 
were the rival powers in Syria, occurred a circumstance 
which exercised considerable influence on the subsequent 
course of events, and which makes necessary a retrospect- 
ive glance. 

35. At the time of the first crusade Palestine was the 
scene of a violent contest between the Turks, who had 
poured down from the I^orth, conquering as they went, 
and the Fatimites of Egypt, who had possessed Syria for 
nearly a century. The Turks had at first been irresistible. 
The Fatimites, however, had been able to recover Jeru- 
salem from the hands of their enemies, and held it when 
besieged by the Christians. Interrupted in their conflict 
with each other for the sovereignty of Palestine, the Fati- 
mites and Turks turned their arms with one accord against 
the invader. In the person of Koureddin the Turkish 
power was now increasing. The Fatimite dynasty of 
Egypt, meanwhile, had long been showing signs of decay, 
the caliphs having become mere tools in the hands of their 
viziers. In 1163 one of these viziers, Shawer, finding 



42 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

himself expelled from his post bj a rival, sought refuge 
at the court of Aleppo, and applied to the sultan for 
assistance. Noureddin eagerly embraced an opportunity 
for obtaining a footing in Egypt, and sent two persons, 
Chyrkouh and his nephew Saladin, to displace the usurp- 
ing vizier and re - establish Shawer. They, however, 
usurped the government, and Shawer applied to the King 
of Jerusalem, Amalric, for assistance. Amalric in turn 
attempted usurpation, and again the officers of Noureddin 
came to the aid of Shawer. The vizier paid the penalty 
of his fickleness by losing his head, and his post was oc- 
cupied by Chyrkouh, who, while ruling Egypt as a vizier 
of the Fatimite caliph, was in reality the lieutenant of 
JS^oureddin, 

36. On the death of Chyrkouh, Saladin was appointed 
to the viziership. The caliph fancied that he would now 
regain the control of his own dominions, but he little 
knew the character of his new vizier. Saladin soon 
effected a revohition in Egypt, declared the Fatimite dy- 
nasty to be at an end, and subjected the country once 
more to the nominal authority of the Bagdad caliphs, 
whom ]S"oureddin professed to reverence as the supreme 
heads of the Mohammedan Empire. ]^or did he stop 
here. He soon showed a disposition to shake off the su- 
premacy of J^oureddin, and the sultan of Aleppo was 
marching into Egypt to vindicate his authority, when he 
suddenly died in the year 1171. 

37. Saladin now saw the great obstacle to his ambition 
removed, and began to aim at realizing those schemes of 
sovereignty which Noureddin had projected. The state 
of the Christian kingdom during the ten or twelve years 
which followed directly favored his plans. Civil dissen- 
sions arose which the keen eye of Saladin discovered, and, 
already master of all Syria, he resolved to complete his 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 43 

greatness by the conquest of Palestine. Accordingly, 
when in the year 1187 it was known that he was on his 
march against Jerusalem, the Christian crusaders saw the 
necessity of abandoning their dissensions and uniting cor- 
dially against the invader. Town after town surrendered 
to the victorious Saracen, and, in October, 1187, Jerusa- 
lem itself, after fourteen days' defense, was obliged to 
submit to his mercy. The conduct of Saladin on this 
occasion was more generous than might have been ex- 
pected. A moderate ransom was fixed for every individ- 
ual, on the payment of which he was at liberty to remove 
with his goods to whatever place he chose. To the Chris- 
tian ladies, Saladin's conduct was courteous in the ex- 
treme, so that it became a remark among the Latins of 
Palestine that Saladin was a bai'barian only in name. 

38. Thus, after ninety years, was the Holy City again 
inhabited by the infidel, and all the fruits of the first 
crusade lost, as it seemed to the world. Saladin now 
possessed the whole of Palestine, with the single exception 
of the city of Tyre, which was gallantly defended by Con- 
rad, Marquis of Montferrat. 

39o The epidemic frenzy which had been gradually 
cooling was now extinct, or nearly so, and the nations of 
Europe looked with cold indifterence upon the armaments 
of their princes. But chivalry was now in all its glory, 
and it continued to supply armies for the Holy Land. 
Poetry more than religion inspired the Third Crusade. 
The knights and their retainers listened with delight to 
the martial and amatory strains of the ministrels, minne- 
singers, and troubadors. Men fought not so much for the 
holy sepulchre as to gain glory for themselves in the 
best and only field where glory could be obtained. They 
fought not as zealots, but as soldiers, not for religion, but 
for honor. 



44 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 



40. The first to take the field was the illustrious Ger- 
man emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Marching from 
Katisbon at the head of a magnificent army in 1189, he 
fought his way through the Greek dominions, advanced 
through Asia Minor, conquering as he went, and was al- 
ready on the borders of Palestine, when, imprudently 
bathing, he was cut off in the seventieth year of his age. 
His army suffered greatly from the difficulties of their 
march and the attacks of the Saracens. The wrecks of it 
under Frederick's son, the Duke of Swabia, proved a most 
valuable reinforcement to the Christians in Syria, who 
had by this time rallied and combined against tlie domina- 
tion of Saladin, laying siege to the city of Acre on the 
sea-coast, a town of so much importance that the posses- 
sion of it was considered almost equivalent to being mas- 
ter of the whole country. 

41. Upon this siege, commenced in August, 1189, was 
concentrated all the force at the command of the Chris- 
tians in Palestine, the remnants of the two great military 
orders the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospital- 
lers, the survivors of Frederick's army, together with such 
bodies of crusaders as were continually arriving from Eu- 
rope by sea. Guy de Lusignan was the commander of 
the besieging forces, and so skillfully* was his army forti- 
fied that Saladin was unable to dislodge him. For two- 
and-twenty months the siege continued, and many en- 
gagements had taken place between the Christian army 
and that of Saladin, which occupied the mountains to the 
south, but without visible advantage on either side. 

42. Such was the position of affairs when, early in the 
summer of 1191, Philip, of France, and Kichard Coeur 
de Lion, of England, arrived with their fleets. The 
struggle was soon over, and on the 12th of July, 1191, 
Acre surrendei^ed to the Christians. Had the crusaders 






CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. * 45 

been united among themselves, tlie fall of this citj might 
have been but preliminary to the recovery of the whole 
country. The rivalry of the kings of France and Eng- 
land, however, prevented their cordial co-operation, and, 
not long after the capture of Acre, Philip ruined the 
cause of the crusade by returning to Europe. 

43. After gaining many important successes against 
Saladin, and earning for himself the reputation of the 
most valiant knight of the age, Richard, involved in 
disputes with the other chiefs of the crusade, and anxious 
to revisit England, where his presence was becoming daily 
more necessary, was glad to conclude an honorable peace. 
Saladin, on his part, was equally willing to end a struggle 
which had cost him so much. A truce was concluded for 
three years and eight months, during which Christian 
pilgrims were to enjoy the liberty of visiting Jerusalem 
without hindrance. 

44. Saladin entertained many Christians in his own 
palace, from which they returned, their tongues laden 
with praises of the noble iniidel. Richard and Saladin 
never met, but each admired the prowess and nobleness of 
soul of his rival. 

45. The Christians and Moslems no longer looked 
upon each other as barbarians, to whom mercy was a 
crime. Each host entertained the highest admiration for 
the bravery and magnanimity of the other, and in their 
occasional truces met upon the most friendly terms. 
When Richard, the lion-hearted king of England, lay in 
his tent consumed by a fever, there came into the camp 
camels laden with snow, sent hj his enemy, the Sultan 
Saladin, to assuage his disease, the homage of one brave 
soldier to another. But, when Richard was returning to 
England, it was by a Christian prince that he was treach- 
erously seized and secretly confined. 



46 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

46. It was on the 25tli of October, 1192, that Kichard 
set sail for Europe. Forced by stress of weather to land 
at Zara, he made the attempt to journey through the con- 
tinent, and was arrested and held a prisoner while passing 
through the dominions of his enemy and former fellow- 
crusader, the archduke of Austria, and remained in 
prison in Yienna for several months. He returned to 
England in 1194, and died in 1199. His great antagonist, 
Saladin, had died in 1193, not long after the Christian 
armies left Palestine. At the end of the crusade, the 
Crescent waved as defiantly as ever over the land of 
Israel. 

THE FOURTH CRUSADE. 

47. The fourth crusade, from 1195 to 1198, led by 
Henry YI of Germany, was equally a failure. There 
were gained some brilliant victories, but dissensions 
divided the armies, and at last a truce was made with the 
Mohammedans. It is true that these victories made tlie 
crusaders masters of the sea-coast, but, when the armies 
departed, the Christian king found himself in possession 
of cities which he was unable to garrison, and which he 
felt would be held only by the sufferance of the enemy. 

THE FIFTH CRUSADE. 

48. In the year 1203 a new crusade was set on foot, 
commanded by several of the most powerful nobles of 
Italy and France. Instead of marching at once against 
the infidels, the crusaders suffered themselves to be drawn 
into a contest with the Greek empire. Just at this time 
the emperor of the Greeks had been deposed and de- 
prived of his eyes by his own brother. His son, Alexius, 
fled to Europe, and petitioned the assistance of the Latin 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 47 

princes against the usurper, promising in return to use 
his efforts to bring about a union of the Greek with the 
Latin church, and to employ all the resources of his king- 
dom against the inhdels of Syria. The temptation of 
such a prospect could not be resisted ; the crusaders 
marched into Greece, laid siege to Constantinople, and 
took the city by storm a. d. 1204, thereby establishing 
Latin Christianity in the eastern metropohs,but at what a 
cost. Neither the works of God nor man were respected 
by the invaders ; they vented their brutal ferocity upon the 
one, and satisfied their avarice upon the other. " In St. 
Sophia, the silver was stripped from the pulpit, an exquisite 
and highly-prized table of oblation was broken in pieces, 
the sacred chalices were turned into drinking-cups, the 
gold fringe was ripped off the veil of the sanctuary. Asses 
and horses were led into the churches to carry off the spoil. 

49. '' Many beautiful bronze pieces, above all price as 
works of art, were broken into pieces to be sold as old 
metal. The finely chiseled marble was also destroyed by 
the same spirit of vandalism. Two thousand people were 
put to the sword ; had there been less plunder, the slaugli- 
ter would in all probability have been much greater." 

60. For fifty years the empire was ruled over by the 
Franks. Meanwhile the knights, plunged in the luxury 
of the city, heeded not the appeals from Palestine, but 
allowed the besieged and suffering, for whose rescue they 
had enlisted, to linger and die without an effort on their 
behalf. Moved to desperation, in this emergency, the 
Christians sent to Europe a heart-rending cry for help. 

THE SIXTH CRUSADE. 

51. The urgent appeal from Palestine caused Pope 
Innocent III to earnestly preach a new crusade, and he 



48 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

crowned his labors and appeals witli his famous exclama- 
tion, " Sword, sword, start from thy scabbard, and sharpen 
thyself to kill." Though the many disastrous and fruitless 
expeditions had so dampened the ardor of men that they 
gave little heed to his appeals, the zeal of the young was 
kindled for the cause to which their elders seemed so 
indifferent. 

52. The children of Germany and France caught the 
madness of the hour, and resolved upon a crusade of their 
own. Inspired by the preaching of a fanatical priest 
named Nicholas, twenty thousand boys of the average 
age of twelve years assembled at Cologne. They came 
from all ranks of life, and the heir of the proud noble 
marched side by side with the son of the humblest peas- 
ant. Sisters, priests, and servants joined the throng, 
swelling the numbers and adding to the confusion. 

53. Their journey began in July, 1212, and their 
destination was Palestine, and they were to go by way of 
Rome, so as to obtain the assistance and the blessing of 
the Pope. In their ignorance these poor children thought 
that Palestine was but a few miles distant, and before the 
close of the hrst day's march excited voices were heard 
asking if the holy sepulchre wns in sight. Slowly on- 
ward the multitude moved up the Rhine, and over the 
Mont Cenis pass of the Alps, into Italy. 

54. But day by day hearts became sick with continued 
disappointment, and little feet weary with the never-end- 
ing miles which stretched before. The weak and the 
sickly were the first to give out, and, though they strug- 
gled to keep their places in the ranks, one by one they 
fell by the wayside to die alone, with no loving hands to 
soothe their last moments or to moisten their parched 
lips with a drop of cold water. The path of the youth- 
ful crusaders might be traced by the marks left by thou- 



CRUSADES AKD TEE CRUSADERS. 49 

sands of bleeding feet and by the yictims stretcbed in 
deatb along the course. 

65. Deatb, disease, and desertion soon tbinned tbeir 
ranks to siicb an extent tbat only one balf of tbeir original 
number lived to reacb tbe summit of tbe Alps and look 
down into Italy. Tbe journey across tbe mountains was 
a fearful one. Tbey bad left bome in summer, wben 
tbeir raiment was tbin ; it bad become scanty and ragged 
in tbe long and dusty marcb, so tbat tbey were exposed 
to tbe full severity of tbe cold. Tbe rocks cut tbeir sboe- 
I'ess feet, but notbing remained but to press onward or to 
lie down and die. 

66. Only seven tbousand lived to reacb Genoa, wbere 
tbey were received coldly, but wbere tbey were at last per- 
mitted to stay a week to rest. Tben again onward tbrougb 
tbe plains of Italy, until all tbat survived made tbeir w^ay 
to Kome. Pope Innocent partook of tbe fanaticism wbicb 
affected all Europe, but tbe sigbt of tbese little victims 
of tbe universal delusion, reduced to mere spectres by 
bardsbips, disease, and famine, aroused in bim an unex- 
pected buman sympatby. He blessed tbe cbildren, for- 
bade tbem to go fartber, and wben rested sent tbem back 
to tbeir German bomes. 

67. Tbe winter bad passed and tbe spring bad come 
again before tbe few survivors reacbed tbeir beloved 
fatberland. Day by day tbere came straggling into tbe 
German cities groups of tbese victims, tbeir beads droop- 
ing for sbame, tbeir eyes red witb tears, tbeir clotbing in 
rags. Many died upon realizing tbe last bope wbicb bad 
sustained tbem so long. Sad-eyed motbers looked in vain 
among tbe tbin ranks for tbeir beloved ones, and time 
only sootbed tbe untold misery of tbis wild enterprise. 

58. Soon after tbe departure of tbe German cbildren 
on tbeir crusade under Nicbolas, anotber of about equal 



50 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

numbers set out from Cologne by a different route. They 
crossed the Alps bj the pass of St. Gothard, and de- 
scended into Eastern Italy. Keeping along the coast of 
the Adriatic, they at last came to the southern front of 
the peninsula, and could go no farther. They met with 
a fate similar to that of the first band, with the additional 
horror that many of them were seized by Turkish pirates 
and carried away into life-long slavery. The few who 
survived to reach Southern Italy embarked on a vessel, 
and never were heard of more. l^o messenger even 
returned to the vine-clad hills of the Rhine to report the 
fate of the little ones, and they all disappeared from the 
aching gaze of anxious mothers as though the earth had 
swallowed them up. 

59. The third children's crusade set out from France 
under the leadership of a bare-footed friar named Stephen. 
They numbered thirty thousand, and their first destina- 
tion was Marseilles, whence they were to take shipping 
for Palestine through means directly provided by the 
Lord. Through the broad fields of France, during the 
hot summer days, the crusaders marched, every mile 
marked by victims ; and, wlien the white walls of the city 
of their destination became visible, their numbers were 
reduced one half. 

60. The charity of Marseilles was taxed to its utmost 
to provide for the fifteen thousand mouths open to re- 
ceive it. Through weary weeks the children waited in 
vain for the promised aid from the Lord. Despair was 
more fatal than famine, and soon two thirds of those who 
had reached the city perished. When their numbers 
were reduced to ^\q thousand, apparently the promise of 
Divine aid was fulfilled. Two wealthy and benevolent 
merchants volimteered to send the children on to their 
destination. Seven ships were prepared, and into these 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 51 

the five thousand crowded, believing their troubles were 

at an end. 

61. The ships sailed ont of port, freighted with 
mother love and religious blessings. To anxious eyes 
that watched their departure, their white sails, lessening 
in the distance, wafted back messages of hope and assur- 
ance. At the dawn of another day the last speck had 
disappeared, and the blue waves of the Mediterranean 
rolled tranquilly, as if jealously guarding the secrets of 
fate. But time went on. Homeward-bound vessels, 
direct from the scene of conflict, saw the precious fleet. 
IS'ews of stern conflicts with the infidels was brought by 
wandering palmers; but from sailor merchant, from 
peasant warrior, and from noble scarred with Saracenic 
wounds, there was a death-like silence in regard to the 
little wanderers. Streaming eyes fixed upon the East 
looked in vain until all tears were quenched in death. 

62. Eighteen years passed since the children's fleet 
sailed out of European life. Then a vague rumor of 
treachery began to circulate, and, little by little, the de- 
tails came out of one of the most inhuman crimes that 
ever shocked the hearts of men. The benevolent mer- 
chants who furnished the ships had sold the children to 
the barbarous Moslems, and the course of the fleet was 
turned from east to south. On the second day out a great 
storm arose, and two of the ships foundered, and all on 
board perished. A more horrible fate awaited the sur- 
vivors. Landing in a city of the Moors in northern 
Africa, they were conducted to a secure prison, and from 
the gloomy portals they passed out into distant and per- 
petual slavery. One by one the captives died, some by 
disease, some by cruelty, others passed away in old age. 
At length all dropped their weary burdens, and their toils 
and sorrows ended. Not one of the hundreds that sailed 



52 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

out of Marseilles on that sunny afternoon ever saw 
Europe again. Earel j in the history of the world has a 
story in real life been freighted with so much woe as fell 
to the lot of the victims of the strange madness which 
swept over Europe less than seven hundred years ago. 
Peace to their memories I 

63. At last an army was organized, and Innocent an- 
nounced that he himself would lead the host to the de- 
fense of the holy se^^ulchre; but his death intervened 
before the project was ripe. Andrew, king of Huno;ary, 
was the only monarch who had leisure or inclination to 
leave his dominions. He led the army to Palestine and 
defeated the Saracens, but failed to follow up his victory, 
and soon after abandoned the enterprise. The Duke of 
Austria, who succeeded him as leader, directed the whole 
energy of the crasade against Egypt ; and Damietta, which 
commanded the river Nile, was chosen as the first point 
of attack. Finding themselves unable to successfully de- 
fend the city, the Moslems offered to yield the whole of 
Palestine to the Christians upon the condition of the evacu- 
ation of Egypt. With a blindness almost incredible these 
terms were refused, and a last attack made on the walls of 
Damietta. The besieged made but slight resistance, and 
the Christians entered the city, to find out of seventy thou- 
sand but three thousand remaining, so fearful had been 
the scourge of plague and famine. Several months were 
spent in Damietta. The climate either weakened the 
frames or obscured the understandings of the Christians, 
for after their conquest they remained inactive until the 
Moslems recuperated their army and were able to recap- 
ture Damietta and expel the Crusaders from Egypt. 

64. "With a view to the recovery of the Holy Land, 
Frederick II, of Germany, had been married to lolante, 
the heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem. His early 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 53 

life was spent in Sicily, in familiar intercourse with 
Jews and Arabs, and Sicily w^as to the last the favored 
portion of his dominion. The emperor's court was given 
up to unpardonable frivolities in the eyes of Pope Greg- 
ory IX, one of whose first pontifical acts was to summon 
Frederick to a new crusade. The emperor paid little 
heed to the aged Pope's exhortations and commands, post- 
poning from time to time the period of his departure. 
He embarked at last, but in ten days returned. The 
Pope was not to be trifled with, and pronounced his ex- 
communication. Frederick treated it with contempt, and 
appealed to Christendom to sustain him. For this he 
underwent a more tremendous excommunication, but his 
partisans in Pome raised an insurrection and expelled the 
Pope. 

65. And now Frederick set sail of his own accord on 
his crusading expedition. On reaching the Holy Land he 
was received with joy by the knights and pilgrims, but 
the clergy held aloof from him as under the ban of the 
Church. He negotiated j^i'ivately with the Sultan of 
Egypt. The Christian camp was thronged with Sara- 
cens. The emperor wore a Saracen dress. In his pri- 
vacy he did not hesitate to say, " I came not here to de- 
liver the Holy City, but to maintain my estimation among 
the Franks." To the Sultan he appealed : "Out of your 
goodness surrender to me Jerusalem as it is, that I may 
be able to lift up my head among the kings of Christen- 
dom." Accordingly, the city was surrendered to him. 
The Pope repudiated the transaction. 

Q%. While the emperor proclaimed his successes to 
Europe, the pope denounced them. Frederick crowned 
himself at Jerusalem, being unable to find any ecclesiastic 
who dared to perform the ceremony, and departed from 
the Holy Land. He prepared to enter on his conflict with 



54 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN BISTORT. 

the pontiff, and drew over to his side the general senti- 
ment of Europe ; the Pope was made to give waj, and 
peace proclaimed. The treaty, which closed the sixth cru- 
sade, was for ten years. 

THE SEVENTH CRUSADE. 

67. On neither side probably was the truce strictly 
kept, and the injuries done to pilgrims on their way from 
Acre to Jerusalem were alleged as a sufficient reason for \ 
sending out the expedition headed by Eichard, Earl of 
Cornwall, brother of the English Henry III, and after- 
ward King of the Eomans. This expedition may be re- 
garded as the seventh in the list of crusades, and deserves 
notice as having been brought to an end, like that of Fred- 
erick, by a treaty, in 1240. The terms of the latter cove- 
nant were even more favorable to the Christians, but, two 
years later, the Latin power, such as it was, was swept 
away by the sword of Korasmians, pushed onward by .the 
hordes of Jenghiz Khan. The awful inroad was alleged 
by Po]3e Innocent lY as reason for summoning Christen- 
dom again to the rescue of the Holy Land. 

THE EIGHTH CRUSADE. 

68. IS'early seven years passed away before the French 
king, Louis IX, was able to set sail for Egypt. The royal 
saint, who lives for us in the qnaint and graphic account 
of his seneschal Joinville, may with truth be said to have 
been animated by a spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice. 
Intolerant in theory and bigoted in language, Louis had 
that true charity which would make him succor his ene- 
mies not less than his friends. IS'or was his bravery less 
signal than his gentleness. His dauntless courage saved 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS 55 

his army from complete destruction at Mansourah in 
124:9, but his offer to exchange Damietta for Jerusalem 
was rejected, and in the retreat, during which they were 
compelled to fight at desperate disadvantage, Louis was 
taken prisoner. With serene patience he underwent suffer- 
ing, for which the Saracens, so Joinville tells us, frankly 
confessed that they would have renounced Mahommed ; 
and, when the payment of his ransom set him free, he 
made a pilgrimage in sackcloth to E"azareth in 1250. As 
a general he achieved nothing, but his humihation in- 
volved no dishonor ; and the genuineness of his faith, his 
devotion, and his love had been fully tested in the furnace 
of affliction. 

69. The crusading fire was now rapidly burning itself 
out. In the West there was nothing to awaken again the 
enthusiasm which had been stirred by Peter the Hermit 
and St. Bernard, while in Palestine itself the only signs 
of genuine activity were furnished by the antagonism be- 
tween the religious orders there. The quarrels of Temp- 
lars and Hospitallers led to a pitched battle in 1259, in 
which almost all the Templars were slain. 

THE NINTH CRUSADE. 

70. Some eight years later the tidings that Antioch 
had been taken by the infidels revived in St. Louis the 
old yearning for the rescue of the holy places. Cheered 
by the sympathy of Pope Clement lY, he embarked with 
an army of sixty thousand in 1270, but a storm drove his 
ships to Sardinia, and thence they sailed for Tunis. They 
encamped on the site of Carthage, when a plague broke 
out. The saintly king was among the victims, and the 
truest of all crusaders died. In the following year Ed- 
ward, of England, reached Acre, took ]^azareth — the in- 



56, TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

habitants of which he massacred — fell sick, and diiriDg 
his sickness narrowly escaped being murdered bj an assas- 
sin sent by the Emir of Joppa. Having made a peace for 
nine years, he returned to Europe, and the ninth and last 
crusade was at an end. 

71. The after fate of the Holy Land may be briefly 
told : The Christians, unmindful of their past sufferings 
and of the jealous neighbors they had to deal with, first 
broke the truce by plundering some Egyptian traders, 
near Margat. The Sultan revenged the outrage by taking 
possession of Margat, and war once more raged between 
the two nations. Tripoli and the other cities were cap- 
tured in succession, until at last Acre was the only city of 
Palestine remaining to the Christians. 

T2. The Grand Master of the Templars collected his 
small and devoted band, and prepared to defend to the 
death the last possession of the order. Europe was deaf 
to his cry, the numbers of the foe were overwhelming, and 
devoted bravery was of no avail. In the disastrous siege the 
Christians were all but exterminated. The Grrand Master 
fell at the head of his knights, pierced by many wounds. 
Seven Templars and as many Hospitallers alone escaped 
from the dreadful carnage. The victorious Moslems then 
set fire to the city, and the rule of the Christians in Pales- 
tine was brought to a close forever. 

73. Kingsley ably summarizes the effects of the cru- 
sades as follow: "Egypt was still the center of com- 
munication between the two great stations of the Moslem 
power; and, indeed, as Mr. Lane has shown us in his 
most valuable translation of the ^Arabian Mghts,' pos- 
sessed a peculiar life and character of its own. 

74. " It was the rash object of the crusaders to extin- 
guish that life. Palestine was first their point of attack, 
but the later crusaders seem to have found, like all the 



CRUSADES AND THE CRUSADERS. 57 

rest of the world, that the destinies of Palestine conld not 
be separated from those of Egypt, and to Damietta ac- 
cordingly was directed that last disastrous attempt of St. 
Louis. The crusaders failed utterly of the object at which 
they aimed. They succeeded in an object of which they 
never dreamed ; for in those crusades the Moslem and the 
Christian had met face to face, and found that both were 
men, that they had a common humanity, a common eter- 
nal standard of nobility and virtue. So the Christian 
knights went home humbler and wiser men, when they 
found in the Saracen enemies the same generosity, truth, 
mercy, chivalrous seK-sacrifice, which they fancied their 
own peculiar possession ; and, added to that, a civilization 
and a learning which they could only admire and imitate. 
And, thus, from the era of the crusades, a kindlier feeling 
sprang up between the Crescent and the Cross, till it was 
again broken by the fearful invasions of the Turks through 
Eastern Europe. 

75. " The learning of the Moslem, as well as their 
commerce, began to pour rapidly into Christendom, both 
from Spain, Egypt, and Syria; and thus the crusaders 
were, indeed, rewarded according to their deeds. They 
took the sword and perished by the sword. But the truly 
noble element in them, the element which our hearts and 
reasons recognize and love, in spite of all the folly and 
fanaticism of the crusades, whensoever we read ' Ivanhoe ' 
or the ' Talisman,' the element of loyal faith and self-sacri- 
fice, did not go unrequited. 

76. '' They learned wider, juster views of man and vir- 
tue, which I can not help believing must have had great 
effect in weakening in their minds the old, exclusive, big- 
oted notions, and in paving the way for the great outburst 
of free thought and the great assertion of the dignity of 
humanity which the fifteenth century beheld. They 



58 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

opened a path for tliat influx of scientific knowledge 
wMcli has produced in after centuries the most enormous 
effects on the welfare of Europe, and made life possible 
for millions who would otherwise have been pent within 
the narrow bounds of Europe to devour each other in the 
struggle for hfe and bread ! " 



CHAPTER III. 
DEFEJVSE OF FREEDOM IJV ALPIJYE PASSES. 

1. While the great sovereigns of Europe were busy 
in fighting the Moslems in Palestine, thej did not entirely 
neglect affairs at home. Some of them were very good 
rulers, protecting their subjects and maintaining good or- 
der, and others were tyrannical and imposed all sorts of 
taxes and heavy burdens upon the people. Up among 
the Alps, where the country is made up of rough, rocky 
mountains and narrow valleys, hved a people who were 
practically free. They lived in little communities, each 
one of which elected its own magistrate or governor, and 
made its own laws. The region was so poor and rough 
that the neighboring kings little cared to get possession 
of it, and the Alpine dwellers had a greater amount of 
freedom than any other people of Europe. The country 
was divided into little separate communities, one of which 
was called Schwytz, and this afterward gave the name to 
the whole country — Switzerland. 

2. This country of the Swiss was really a part of the 
German empire, but the emperors had extended their 
rule over the lower parts of the country, leaving the 
forest cantons free. And a brave, courageous, and indus- 
trious people grew up there. No pauper-house among 
the Alps, for every able-bodied person worked, and no 
body tried to rob his neighbor of his honest earnings. 



60 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

The J were a strong athletic race, and the monarchs of the 
surrounding countries were glad to secure Swiss soldiers, 
for it was said that the Swiss never deserted. In 1298, 
while Wallace was struggling for freedom in Scotland, 
Albert of Austria, the second of the house of Hapsburg, 
resolved to get possession of the free forest cantons. He 
observed great secrecy in carrying out his designs, and it 
was not until a tax-gatherer or bailiff was permanently 
established in the country, supported by Austrian soldiers, 
that the people awakened to their danger. The story that 
follows is one that all true Swiss delight to believe, and, 
though it may not be true in regard to names and details, 
yet as a record of the main incidents of history it is sub- 
stantially correct. 

3. The first Austrian bailiff was Hermann Gessler, who 
built a strong fortress at Kiissnacht, in Uri. At first he 
professed great love for the people, but when he became 
firmly established he threw off the mask, and showed 
himself to be a cruel, cowardly, mean-spirited tyrant. He 
was both vain and greedy, and he exacted both homage 
and tribute from the surrounding peasantry. Property 
was seized by the soldiers, and, should the owner venture 
to remonstrate, he was mercilessly beaten or killed on the 
spot. Complaints to the governor were followed by fresh 
outrages, until no one, even in the most secluded vallej^s,- 
considered himself safe. Here tyranny as usual over- 
stepped the bounds of safety. The free spirit, bom of 
toil and privations in the mountain-fastnesses, would not 
long endure the outrages to which the people were sub- 
jected. A leader only was needed to induce a general re- 
volt, and this leader was found in the person of WilKam 
Tell. 

4. William Tell, according to the received accounts, 
was born at Biirgelen, a secluded hamlet in the canton of 




Lake Lucerne. 



62 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

Uri, near the lake of Lucerne, about the jear 1275 ; and, 
like his forefathers, was the proprietor of a cottage, a few 
small fields, a vineyard, and an orchard. When William 
had reached the age of twenty, his father is said to have 
died, bequeathing to him these humble possessions. En- 
dowed by nature with a lofty and energetic mind, Tell 
was distinguished also by great physical strength and 
manly beauty. He was taller by a head than most of his 
companions ; he loved to climb the rugged rocks of his 
native mountains iu pursuit of the chamois, and to steer 
his boat across the lake in time of storm and of danger. 
The load of wood which he could bear upon his shoulders 
was double that which any ordinary man could support. 

5. With other sources of happiness. Tell combined that 
of possessing an intimate friend, who dwelt amid the 
rocky heights separating Uri from Unterwalden. Arnold 
Anderhalden, of Melchthal, was this associate. Although 
similar in many salient points of character, there was still 
an essential difference between the two men. Arnold, of 
Melchthal, while he loved his country with an ardor equal 
to that of Tell, and was capable of very great actions, was 
not prepared for much patient suffering or long endur- 
ance of wrong. Tell, whose temperament was more calm, 
and whose passions were more influenced by reason than 
impulse, only succeeded in restraining his friend's impul- 
sive character by the stern force of example. Meantime 
the two friends passed their days in the enjoyment of one 
another's society, visiting at intervals each other's humble 
residence. Tell foresaw, on the arrival of 'Gessler, many 
of the misfortunes which must inevitably follow his iron 
rule, and without explaining his views even to Arnold, of 
Melchthal, without needlessly alarming his family, en- 
deavored to devise some means, not of bearing the yoke 
patiently, but of delivering his country from the galling 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 63 

oppression which Albert had brought upon it. The hero 
felt satisfied that the evil deeds of the governor would 
sooner or later bring just retribution upon him ; for this, 
and many other reasons, therefore, despite his own secret 
wishes, when Arnold poured out his fiery wrath in the 
ear of his friend, he listened calmly, and, to avoid inflam- 
ing him more, avowed none of his own views, or even 
feelings, in return. 

6. One evening, however, William Tell and his wife 
sat in front of their cottage, watching their son amusing 
himself amid the flocks, when the former grew more 
thoughtful and sad than usual. Presently Tell spoke, and 
for the first time imparted to his wife some of his most 
secret designs. While the conversation was still proceed- 
ing, the parents saw their son rush toward them crying 
for help, and shouting the name of old Melchthal. As 
he spoke, Arnold's father appeared in sight, led by his 
grand-child, and feeling his way with a stick. Tell and 
his wife hastened forward, and discovered, to their incon- 
ceivable horror, that their friend was bhnd, his eyes hav- 
ing been put out with hot irons. The hero of Biirgelen, 
burning with just indignation, called on the old man to 
explain the fearful sight, and also the cause of Arnold's 

absence. 

7. It appeared that that very morning the father, son, 
and grand-daughter were in the fields loading a couple of 
oxen with produce for the market-town, when an Austrian 
soldier presented himself, and, having examined the ani- 
mals, which appeared to suit his fancy, ordered their 
owner to unyoke the beasts preparatory to his driving 
them off. Adding insolence to t^o-anny, he further re- 
marked that such clod-poles might very well draw their 
own plows and carts. Arnold, furious at the man's dar- 
ing impertinence, was only restrained by his father's ear- 



64 TEN- GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

nest entreaties from sacriiicing the robber on the spot ; 
nothing, however, could prevent him from aiming a blow 
at the soldier, which broke two of his hngei's. 

8. The enraged soldier then retreated ; but old Melch- 
thal, who well knew the character of Gessler, immediately 
forced Arnold, much agaiust his inclination, to go and 
conceal himself for some days in the Kighi. Scarcely 
had Arnold departed in this direction, when a detachment 
of guards from Altorf surrounded their humble tenement, 
and dragged old Melchthal before Gessler, who ordered 
him to give up his son. Furious at the refusal which en- 
sued, the tyrant commanded the old man's eyes to be put 
out, and then sent him forth blind to deplore his misfor- 
tunes. 

9. Tell heard the story of Melchthal in silence, and, 
when he had finished, inquired the exact spot of his son's 
concealment. The father replied that it was in a particu- 
lar cavern of Mount Kighi, the desert rocks of which 
place are unlaiown to the emissaries of the governor, and 
there he had promised to remain until he received his 
parent's permission to come forth. This Tell requested 
might be granted immediately ; and, turning to his son, 
ordered him to start at once for the Eighi with a message 
to Arnold. Walter obeyed gladly ; and, providing himself 
with food, and receiving private instructions from his 
father, went on his journey under cover of the night. 

10. Tell himself then threw around his own person a 
cloak of wolf-skin, seized his quiver full of sharp arrows, 
and, taking his terrible bow, which few could bend, in 
hand, bade adieu to his wife for a few days, and took his 
departure in an opposite direction from that pursued by 
his son. It was quite dawn when Walter reached the 
Kighi, and a slight column of blue smoke speedily directed 
him to the spot where Arnold lay concealed. The intru- 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 65 

sion at first startled the fugitive ; but, recognizing Tell's 
son, he listened eagerly to his dismal story, the conclusion 
of which roused in him so much fury that he would have 
rushed forth at once to assassinate Gessler had not Walter 
restrained him. 

11. Schooled by Tell, he informed him that his father 
was engaged in preparing vengeance for the tyrant's crime, 
being at that moment with Werner Stauffacher concert- 
ing proper measures of resistance. " ' Go,' said my father, 
' and tell Arnold of this new villany of the governor's, and 
say that it is not rage which can give us just revenge, but 
the utmost exertion of courage and prudence. I leave 
Schwytz to bid Werner arm his canton ; let Melchthal go 
to Stautz and prepare the men of Unterwalden for the 
outbreak ; having done this, let him meet me, with Fiirst 
and Werner, in the field of Griitli ! ' " 

12. Arnold, scarcely taking time to refresh himself 
with food, sent Walter on his homeward journey, while 
he started for' Stautz. Walter, when alone, turned his 
steps toward Altorf, where unfortunately, and unknown 
to himself, he came into the presence of Gessler, to whom 
he uttered somewhat hard things about the state of the 
country, being led to commit himself by the artful ques- 
tions of the tyrant, who immediately ordered the lad into 
confinement, with strict injunctions to the guards to seize 
whomsoever should claim him. 

13. Meanwhile, certain doubts and fears, from he knew 
not what cause, arose in the mind of Gessler, and struck 
him with a presentiment that all was not right. He im- 
agined that the people wore in their looks less abject sub- 
mission to his authority, and, the better to satisfy himself 
of the correctness or erroneousness of this view, he com- 
manded Berenger to erect at dawn of day, in the market- 
place of Altorf, a pole, on the point of which he was to 



eQ TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

place the ducal cap of Austria. An order was further 
promulgated, to the effect that e\^erj one passing near or 
within sight of it should make obeisance, in proof of his 
honor and fealty to the duke. 

14. l^umerous soldiers under arms were directed to 
surround the place, to keep the avenues, and to compel 
the passers-bj to bend with proper respect to the emblem 
of the governing power of the three cantons. Gessler 
likewise determined that whoever should disobey the man- 
date should be accused of disaffection, and treated accord- 
ingly ; a measure which promised both to discover the 
discontented, and furnish suthcient grounds for their pun- 
ishment. ^N^umerous detachments of troops, among whom 
money had been previously distributed, were then placed 
around to see that his commands were scrupulously obeyed. 
History scarcely records another instance of tyranny so 
galling and humiliating to the oppressed, and so insolent 
on the part of its author. 

15. The proceedings of Tell in the interval were of 
the deepest concern to the country. Having arrived within 
the territory of Schwytz, and at the village of Stainea, he 
called at the house of Werner, and, being admitted, threw 
at his feet a heavy bundle of lances, arrows, cross-bows, 
and swords. '■'Werner Stauffacher," cried Tell, "the time 
is come for action ! " and without a moment's delay he in- 
formed his friend of all that had passed, dwelling minutely 
on every detail. And, when he had at length finished, 
the cautious Werner could restrain his wrath no longer, 
but exclaimed, clasping the hero's hand, " Friend, let us 
begin ; I am ready ! " After further brief conference, 
they, by separate ways, carried round arms to their friends 
in the town and neighboring villages. Many hours were 
thus consumed; and, when their weapons were at last 
distributed, they both returned to Stauffacher's house, 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 67 

snatched some slight refreshment, and then sped on their 
way to Griitli, accompanied by ten of their most tried ad- 
herents. 

16. The lake of Lucerne was soon reached, and a boat 
procured. Werner, perceiving the furious tempest, in- 
quired of Tell if his skill would enable him to struggle 
against the storm. " Arnold awaits us ! " cried William ; 
"and the fate of our country depends on this inter- 
view ! " With these words he leaped into the boat, 
Werner jumped after him, and the rest followed. Tell 
cast loose the agitated vessel, seized the tiller, and, hoist- 
ing sail, the little craft flew along the waves. 

17. Presently, it is said, the wind moderated, and ere 
they reached the opposite side had ceased altogether — a 
phenomenon common in these mountain lakes. The boat 
was now made fast, and the conspirators hastened to the 
field of Griitli, where, at the mouth of a cavern of the 
same name, Arnold and Walter Fiirst awaited them, each 
with ten other companions. Tell allowed no considera- 
tion of natural feeling to silence the calls of duty, but at 
once came to the point. He first gave a brief sketch of 
the state of the country under the Austrian bailiffs, and, 
having shown to the satisfaction of his companions the 
necessity for immediate and combined action, is related to 
have added : " We may have our plans frustrated by delay, 
and the time has come for action. I ask only a few days 
for preparation. Unterwalden and Schwytz are armed. 
Three hundred and fifty warriors are, I am assured, ready. 
I will remain in Altorf, and, as soon as I receive tidings 
from Friist, will fire a huge pile of wood near my house. 
At this signal let all march to the rendezvous, and, when 
united, we will pour down upon Altorf, where I will then 
strive to rouse the people ! " 

18. This plan of the campaign was agreed to ; and it 



68 TEN GREAT EVEN'TS m HISTORY, | 

was further resolved that, in tlie enterprise upon which 
they were now embarked, no one should be guided by his 
own private opinion, nor ever forsake his friends ; that 
they should jointly live or jointly die in defense of the 
common cause ; that each should in his own vicinity pro- 
mote the object in view, trusting that the whole nation 
would one day have cause to bless their friendly union ; 
that the Count of Hapsburg should be deprived of none 
of his lands, vassals, or prerogatives ; that the freedom 
which they had inherited from their fathers they were 
determined to assert, and to hand down to their children 
untainted and undiminished. Then Stauffacher, Fiirst, 
and Melchthal, and the other conspirators, stepped for- 
w^ard, and, raising their hands, swore that they would die 
in defense of that freedom. After this solemn oath, and 
after an agreement that New Year's Day should be chosen 
for the outbreak, unless, in the meantime, a signal tire 
should arouse the inhabitants on some sudden emergency, 
the heroes separated. Arnold returned to Stautz, Werner 
to Schwytz, while Tell and Fiirst took their way to Altorf. 
The sun already shone brightly as Tell entered the town, 
and he at once advanced into the public place, where the 
first object which caught his eye was a handsome cap em- 
broidered with gold stuck upon the end of a long pole. 
Soldiers walked around it in respectful silence, and the 
people of Altorf, as they passed, bowed their heads pro- 
foundly to the symbol of power. 

19. Tell was much surprised at this new and strange 
manifestation of serdlity, and, leaning on his cross-bow, 
gazed contemptuously both on the people and the soldiers. 
Berenger, captain of the guard, at length observed this 
man, who alone, amid a cringing populace, carried his 
head erect. He went to him, and fiercely asked why he 
neglected to pay obedience to the orders of Hermann 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM m ALPINE PASSES. 69 

Gessler ? Tell replied that he saw no reason why he 
should bow to a hat, or even to the one which the hat 
represented. This bold language surprised Berenger, who 
ordered Tell to be disarmed, and then, surrounded by 
guards, he was carried before the governor. "Where- 
fore," demanded the incensed bailiff, " hast thou disobeyed 
my orders, and failed in thy respect to the emperor? 
Why hast thou dared to pass before the sacred badge of 
thy sovereign without the evidence of homage required 
of thee ? " " Yerily," answered Tell, with mock humihty, 
" how this happened I know not ; " 'tis an accident, and 
no mark of contempt. Suffer me, therefore, in thy clem- 
ency to depart." 

20. Gessler was irritated at this reply, feeling assured 
that there was something beneath the tranquil and bitter 
smile of the prisoner which he could not fathom. Sud- 
denly he was struck by the resemblance which existed 
between him and the boy Walter, whom he had met the 
previous day, and immediately ordered him to be brought 
forward. 

21. Gessler now inquired the prisoner's name, which 
he no sooner learned than he recognized as that of the 
archer so celebrated throughout the canton. As soon as 
the youth arrived, the governor turned to Tell and told 
him that he had heard of his extraordinary dexterity, and 
was accordingly determined to put it to proof. " While 
beholding justice done, the people of Altorf shall also ad- 
mire thy skill. Thy son shall be placed a hundred yards 
distant, with an apple on his head ; if thou hast the good 
fortune to carry off the apple in triumph with one of thy 
arrows, I pardon both, and restore your liberty. If thou 
refusest this trial, thy son shall die before thine eyes ! " 

22. Tell implored Gessler to spare him so cruel an ex- 
periment, but, finding the governor inexorable, the hero 



70 TEX GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

submitted to the trial. He was conducted into the pubhc 
place, where the required distance was measured by Ber- 
enger — a double row of soldiers shutting up three sides 
of the square. The people, awe-stricken and trembling, 
pressed behind. Walter stood with his back to a linden- 
tree, patiently awaiting the exciting moment. Hermann 
Gessler, some distance behind, watched every motion. 
His cross-bow and belt were handed to Tell ; he tried the 
point, broke the weapon, and demanded his quiver. It 
was brought to him, and emptied at his feet. William 
stooped down, and, taking a long time to choose one, 
managed to hide a second in his girdle ; the other he held 
in his hand, and proceeded to string his bow, while Ber- 
enger cleared away the remaining arrows. After hesitat- 
ing, he drew the bow, aimed, shot, and the apple, struck 
through the core, was carried away by the arrow. 

23. The market-place was filled by loud cries of ad- 
miration. Walter flew to embrace his father, who, over- 
come by the excess of his emotions, fell insensible to the 
ground, thus exposing the second arrow to view. Gessler 
stood over him awaiting his recovery, which speedily took 
place. Tell rose, and turned away from the governor, who, 
however, thus addressed him : " Incomparable archer ! I 
will keep my promise ; but," added he, " tell me what 
needed you with that second arrow which you have, I see, 
secreted in your girdle ? One was surely enough." " The 
second shaft," replied Tell, " was to pierce thy heart, ty- 
rant, if I had chanced to harm my son ! " At these words 
the terrified governor retired behind his guards, revoked 
his promise of pardon, commanding him further to be 
placed in irons, and to be reconducted to the fort. He 
was obeyed, and, as slight murmurs rose among the peo- 
ple, double patrols of Austrian soldiers paraded the streets, 
and forced the citizens to retire to their houses. Walter, 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 71 

released, fled to join Arnold, of Melchthal, accordiog to a 
whispered order from his father. 

24. Gessler, reflecting on the aspect of the people, 
and fearful that some plot was in progress, which his acci- 
dental shortness of provisions rendered more unfortunate, 
determined to rid his citadel of the object which might 
induce an attack. With this in view, he summoned Ber- 
enger, and said to him : " I am about to leave Altorf, and 
jou shall command during my absence. I leave my brave 
soldiers, who will readily obey your voice ; and soon, re- 
turning with supplies and reinforcements, we will crush 
this vile people, and punish them for their insolent mur- 
murings. Prepare me a large boat, in which thirty men, 
picked from my guard, may depart with me. As soon as 
night comes on, load this audacious Tell with chains, and 
send him on board. I will myself take him where he can 
expiate his crimes ! " 

25. The evening was fine and promising; the boat 
danced along the placid waters. The air was pure, the 
waves tranquil, the stars shone brightly in the sky. A 
light southern breeze aided the efforts of the oarsmen, 
and tempered the rigor of the cold, which night in that 
season rendered almost insupportable so near the gla- 
ciers. All appeared in Gessler's favor. The extent of 
the first section of the lake was soon passed, and the boat 
headed for Brunnen. Tell, meantime, loaded with irons, 
gazed with eager eye on the desert rocks of Griitli, where 
the day before he had planned with his friends for the de- 
liverance of his country. While painful thoughts crossed 
his miud, his looks were attracted by a dim light which 
burst forth near his own house. Presently this light in- 
creased, and before long a blaze arose visible all over Uri. 
The heart of the prisoner beat with joy, for he felt that 
all efforts were making to rescue him. Gessler observed 



72 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the flame, wliicli in reality was a signal-fire to arouse the 
cantons, but supposed it some Swiss peasant's house acci- 
dentally in flames. 

26. Suddenly, however, between Fluelen and Sissigen, 
when in deep water, intermingled with shoals, the south 
wind ceased to blow, and one of those storms which are 
common on the lake commenced. A north wind burst 
upon them, raised the waves to a great height, and dashed 
them over the gunwale of the boat, which, giving way to 
the fury of the storm, flew toward the shore that, rocky 
and precipitous, menaced their lives. The bleak wind 
brought also frost, snow, and sleet, which spread darkness 
over the waters, and covered the hands and faces of the 
rowers with ice. The soldiers, inert and panic-stricken, 
prayed for life, while Gessler, but ill prepared for death, 
was profuse in his offers of money and other rewards if 
they would rouse themselves to save him. 

27. In this emergency the Austrian bailiff was re- 
minded by one of his attendants that the prisoner Tell 
was no less skillful in the management of a boat than in 
the exercise of the bow. " And, see, my lord," said one 
of the men, representing to Gressler the imminent peril 
they were all incurring, "all are paralyzed with terror, 
and even the pilot is unable to manage the helm ! " 

28. Gessler's fear of Tell induced him at first to hesitate, 
but, the prayers of the soldiers becoming pressing, he told 
the prisoner that if he could take them safely through the 
storm he should be at once unbound. Tell having re- 
plied that, by the grace of God, he could still save them, 
was instantly freed from his shackles and placed at the 
helm, when the boat, answering to a master-hand, kept its 
course steadily through the bellowing surge, as if con- 
scious of the free spirit which had now taken the com- 
mand. 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IJST ALPINE PASSES. 73 

29. Guiding the obedient tiller at his will, Tell pointed 
the head of the boat in the direction whence they came, 
which he knew to be the only safe course ; and, encour- 
aging and cheering the rowers, made rapid and steady 
progress through the water. The darkness which now 
wrapped them round prevented Gessler from discovering 
that he had turned his back on his destination. Tell con- 
tinued on his way nearly the whole night, the dying light 
of the signal-fire on the mountain serving as a beacon in 
enabling him to approach the shores of Schwytz, and to 
avoid the shoals. 

30. Between Sissigen and Fluelen are two mount- 
ains, the greater and the lesser Achsenberg, whose sides, 
hemmed in and rising perpendicularly from the bed of 
the lake, offer not a single platform where human foot 
can stand. When near this place dawn broke in the east- 
ern sky, and Gessler — the danger appearing to decrease — 
scowled upon Tell in sullen silence. As the prow of the 
vessel was driven inland, Tell perceived a solitary table- 
rock, and called to the rowers to redouble their efforts till 
they should have passed the precipice ahead, observing 
with ominous truth that it was the most dangerous point 
on the whole lake. 

31. The soldiers here recognized their position, and 
pointed it out to Gessler, who demanded of Tell what he 
meant by taking them back to Altorf. William, without 
answering him, brought the bow suddenly close upon the 
rock, seized his bow, and, with an effort which sent the 
unguided craft back into the lake, sprang on shore, scaled 
the rocks, and took the direction of Schwytz. 

32. Having thus escaped the clutches of the governor, 
he made for the main road between Art and Kiissnacht, 
and there hid himself until such a time as the bailiff should 
pass that way. Gessler and his attendants having, with 



74 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

great difficulty, effected a landing at Brunnen, proceeded 
toward Kiissnacht. In the spot still known as " the hol- 
low way," and marked by a chapel, Tell overheard the 
threats pronounced against himseK should he once naore 
be caught, and, in default of his apprehension, vengeance 
was vowed against his family. Tell felt that the safety 
of himself and his wife and children, to say nothing of 
the duty he owed to his country, required the tyrant's 
death ; and, seizing an arrow, he pierced Gessler to the 
heart. 

33. The bold deed accomplished, the hero effected his 
escape to Stemen, where he found Werner Stauffacher 
preparing to march. Immediate laction was now neces- 
sary, but the original decision of the conspirators remained 
unchanged. Accordingly, on the morning of ]^ew Year's 
Day, 1308, the castle of Rostberg, in Obwalden, was taken 
possession of, its keeper, Berenger, of Landasberg, made 
prisoner, and compelled to promise that he would never 
again set foot within the territory of the three cantons, 
after which he was allowed to retire to Lucerne. 

34. Stauffacher, the same morning, at the head of the 
men of Schwytz, destroyed the fortress of Schwanan, 
while Tell and the men of Uri took possession of Altorf. 
On the following Sunday the deputies of Uri, Schwytz, 
and Unterwalden met, and renewed that fraternal league 
which has endured to this day. 

35. In 1315 Leopold, second son of Albert, deter- 
mined to punish the confederate cantons for their revolt, 
and accordingly marched against them at the head of a 
considerable army, accompanied by a numerous retinue of 
nobles. Count Otho, of Strasberg, one of his ablest gen- 
erals, crossed the Brunig with a body of four thousand 
men, intending to attack Upper Unterwalden. The bail- 
iffs of Willisan, of Wodhausen, and of Lucerne meantime 



■ DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 75 

armed a fourtli of that number to make a descent on the 
lower division of the same canton, while the emperor in 
person, at the head of his armj of reserve, ponred down 
from Egerson on Mogarten, in the country of Schwjtz, os- 
tentatiously displaying an extensive supply of rope where- 
with to hang the chiefs of the rebels. 

36. The confederates, in order to oppose this formi- 
dable invasion, occupied a position in the mountains bor- 
dering on the convent of Our Lady of the Hermits. Four 
hundred men of Uri, and three hundred of Unterwalden, 
had effected a junction with the warriors of Schwytz, 
who formed the principal force of the little army. Fifty 
men, banished from this latter canton, offered themselves 
to combat beneath their banner, intcDding to efface by 
their valor the remembrance of past faults. Early on 
the morning of November 15, 1315, some thousands of 
well-armed Austrian knights slowly ascended the hill on 
which the Swiss were posted, with the hope of dislodging 
them ; the latter, however, advanced to meet their ene- 
mies, uttering the most terrific cries. The band of ban- 
ished men, having precipitated large stones and fragments 
of rocks from the hillsides and from overhanging cliffs, 
rushed from behind the sheltering influence of a thick 
fog and threw the advancing columns into confusion. The 
Austrians immediately broke their ranks, and presently a 
complete rout, with terrible slaughter, ensued. The flower 
of the Austrian chivalry perished on the field of Morgar- 
ten, beneath the halberts, arrows, and iron-headed clubs 
of the shepherds. Leopold, himself, though he succeeded 
in gaining the shattered remnant of his forces, had a nar- 
row escape, while the Swiss, animated by victory, has- 
tened to Unterwalden, where they defeated another body 
of Austrians. In this instance Count Otho had as narrow 
an escape as the emperor. 



76 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

37. After these two well-fought fields, the confeder- 
ates hastened to renew their ancient alliance, which was 
solemnly sworn to in an assembly held at Brunnen on the 
eighth day of December. 

38. After the battle of Morgarten one canton after 
another threw off the Austrian yoke, and joined the for- 
est cantons, until nearly all Switzerland was joined in a 
confederacy. A later war waged by Albert proved dis- 
astrous to the Austrian cause, and ended by a further con- 
solidation of the Swiss cantons. In 1386, seventy years 
after Morgarten, the Austrians made another attempt to 
bring the brave mountaineers into subjection. An army 
of nine thousand men, the best trained soldiers of the 
empire, under the lead of the Archduke Leopold, invaded 
the country. To these the confederates opposed a force 
of fourteen hundred. They met in a valley near the lake 
of Sempach. The Austrians had learned something of 
Swiss warfare, and knew that they stood no chance in a 
hand-to-hand conflict with the Swiss, and so they formed 
their men into squares, with a wall of bristling spears on 
every side. Upon this solid mass of men the Swiss could 
make no impression. In vain they charged with the fiery 
courage which had so often gained them the victory; 
they could find no vulnerable point in the serried col- 
umns, and it seemed that the brave mountaineers must all 
perish, and leave their homes again to the mercy of the 
Austrian soldiers. But, when almost in despair, the tide 
of battle was turned by the acts of a single Swiss soldier, 
Arnold Winkelried, of ITnterwalden. He communicated 
his plan to his immediate neighbors, and then, rushing 
forward, he grasped as many of the Austrian spears as he 
could reach : and, gathering them together, he bowed to 
the ground with the spears buried in his breast. Into the 
breach his companions rushed, and with their powerful 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 77 

swords they soon widened the space, so that the whole 
Swiss force had room for action. The Austrians were 
almost annihilated, Leopold himself being slain. The 
poet Montgomery has given the following version of this 
event : 

ARNOLD WINKELRIED. 

39. " Make way for liberty ! " he cried ; 
" Make way for liberty ! " and died. 

40. In arms the Austrian phalanx stood, 
A living wall, a human wood ! 

A wall where every conscious stone 

Seemed to its kindred thousands grown ; 

A rampart all assaults to bear. 

Till time to dust their frames should wear ! 

A wood, like that enchanted grove 

In which with fiends Kinaldo strove. 

Where every silent tree possessed 

A spirit prisoned in its breast, 

Which the first stroke of coming strife 

Would startle into hideous life ; 

So dense, so still, the Austrians stood, 

A living wall, a human wood ! 

Impregnable their front appears. 

All horrent with projected spears. 

Whose polished points before them shine. 

From flank to flank, one brilliant line. 

Bright as the breakers' splendors run 

Along the billows, to the sun. 

41. Opposed to these, a hovering band 
Contended for their native land ; 

Peasants, whose new-found strength had broke 
From manly necks the ignoble yoke, 



78 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

And forged tlieii* fetters into swords, 
On equal terms to light their lords : 
And what insurgent rage had gained, 
In many a mortal fraj maintained ! 
Marshaled at morn at Freedom's call, 
Thev come to conquer or to fall, 
Where he who conquered, he who fell, 
Was deemed a dead, or living Tell ! 
Such virtue had that patriot breathed, 
So to the soil his soul bequeathed. 
That wheresoever his arrows flew. 
Heroes in his own likeness grew. 
And warriors sprang from every sod 
Which his awakening footstep trod, 

42. And now the work of life and death 
Hung on the passing of a breath ; 
The Are of conflict burnt within. 
The battle trembled to begin ; 

Yet, while the Austrians held their ground, 
Point for attack was nowhere found. 
Where'er the impatient Switzers gazed. 
The unbroken line of lances blazed ; 
That hne 'twere suicide to meet. 
And perish at their tyrant's feet : 
How could they rest within their graves. 
And leave their homes the homes of slaves ? 
Would they not feel their children tread 
With clanging chains above their head ? 

43. It must not ! This day, this hour. 
Annihilates the oppressor's power ; 
All Switzerland is in the field. 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 79 

She will not %, she can not yield — 
She must not fall ; her better fate* 
Here gives her an immortal date. 
Few were the numbers she could boast ; 
But every freeman was a host, 
And felt as though himseK were he 
On whose sole arm hung victory ! 

44. It did depend on one, indeed, 
Behold him — Arnold Winkelried ! 
There sounds not to the tramp of fame 
The echo of a nobler name. 
Unmarked he stood amid the throng, 
In rumination deep and long, 

Till you might see, with sudden grace, 

The very thought come o'er his face, 

And by the motion of his form 

Anticipate the coming storm ; 

And by the uplifting of his brow 

Tell where the bolt would strike, and how. 

45. But 'twas no sooner thought and done, 
The field was in a moment won. 

46. " Make way for Liberty ! " he cried ; 
Then ran with arms extended wide 
As if his dearest friend to clasp ; 
Ten spears he swept within his grasp. 
" Make way for Liberty ! " he cried : 
Their keen points met from side to side ; 
He bowed among them like a tree. 
And thus made way for Liberty ! 

47o Swift to the breach his comrades fly ; 
'' Make way for Liberty ! " they cry. 



80 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

And through the Austrian phalanx dart, 

As rushfed the spears through Arnold's heart ! 

While instantaneous as his fall, 

Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all : 

An earthquake could not overthrow 

A city with a surer blow. 

48. Thus Switzerland again was free, 
Thus death made way for Liberty ! 

49. In the next fifty years the Swiss were engaged in 
a war with Austria and another with France, and in both 
eases they were victorious. But, while they were ex- 
hausted by the incessant wars that had been urged upon 
them, they were threatened with a more formidable inva- 
sion than ever. Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, 
resolved to attach Switzerland to his domain. Crossing 
the Jura, the duke found himself in possession of Yver- 
dun, it having been betrayed into his hands ; but the cita- 
del still held out. Charles, irritated that his progress 
should be stayed by such a handful of men, offered to let 
them retire home if they would surrender, but if they 
still held out he would hang them all ! The Swiss, know- 
ing prolonged defense was useless, surrendered. As they 
marched out of the citadel they were seized, by order of 
the duke, and all murdered. 

50. Aroused by these horrors, an army of twenty thou- 
sand advanced to meet the duke at the head of three times 
that number. In the battle that ensued the Burgundians 
were entirely defeated, and Charles narrowly escaped with 
his life. Writhing under his disgrace, and vowing re- 
venge, the duke raised a much more numerous army, and 
again invaded Switzerland. 

51. He advanced by the way of the lake of N"eufchatel, 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IN ALPINE PASSES. 81 

and paused a few days to capture the fortress on the banks 
of Lake Morat. While the siege was going on the Swiss 
army concentrated, and mai ched to meet their foes. Thirty 
thousand men were to fight the battle of freedom against 
one hundred thousand. It was on Saturday, June 22, 1476. 
The weather was threatening, the sky overcast, and rain 
fell in torrents. A vanguard was formed, commanded by 
John Hallwyl, who knelt and besought a blessing from 
on high. While they yet prayed the sun broke through 
the clouds, upon which the Swiss commander rose, sword 
in hand, crying : " Up, up, Heaven smiles on our vic- 
tory ! " The artillery thundered forth ' as he spoke, and 
the whole plain, from the lake to the rocky heights, be- 
came one vast battle-field ! Toward the main body of the 
Burgundians the Swiss army poured down with irresisti- 
ble force and courage ; and, clearing all difficulties, they 
reached the line of the enemy. A fearful slaughter now 
ensued. The Burgundians were utterly vanquished. The 
haughty duke, pale and dispirited, fled with a few follow- 
ers, and never stopped till he reached the banks of Lake 
Leman. The rout was so complete that many of the 
Burgundians, in terror and despair, threw themselves into 
the Lake of Morat, the banks of which were strewed with 
the bodies of the slain. 

52. The battle of Morat lives in history with the vic- 
tories of Marathon and Bannockburn. In each, freedom for 
the nation was secured, and liberty for man was preserved 
and transmitted. As a deed, the Swiss victory for ever 
freed a people from a grasping foreign tyrant ; and it is a 
matter of rejoicing to all who love liberty till to-day, and, 
like other great events, it is the subject of national tra- 
ditions. 

53. According to one of these, a young native of Fri- 
burg, who had been engaged in the battle, keenly desirous 



82 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

of being the first to carry home tidings of the victory, ran 
the whole way — a distance of 'ten or twelve miles — and 
with snch overhaste that on his arrival at the market- 
place he dropped with fatigue, and, barely able to shout 
that the Swiss were victorious, immediately expired. A 
twig of lime-tree, which he carried in his hand, was planted 
on the spot in commemoration of this event ; and till the 
present day are seen, in the market-place of Friburg, the 
aged and propped-up remains of the venerable tree which 
grew from this twig. In most of the towns of Switzer- 
land a " tree of Liberty " is preserved, which came from 
scions of the original tree at Fidburg. 



CHAPTER IV. 
BRUCE AMD BAJTJYOCKBURJf. 

1. Six hundred years ago the duty of defending free- 
dom fell to King Robert Bruce and the Scotch. And 
this is how it happened. The time was during the cru- 
sades, when all Europe was marching to the East, and en- 
gaging in battle with the Moslems. Scotland had been 
an independent country for many years, but some of her 
princes were too weak for those troublous times. The 
witches that deceived Macbeth seem to have cast a spell 
upon the prosperity of the country. Clan was at enmity 
with clan, and one great chieftain waged relentless war 
with another. The fierce nobles paid little heed to the 
king, and showed no regard for the rights of the people. 
It seemed that peace and liberty had departed forever. 

2. Alexander III died, leaving no direct heir. The 
Scottish nobles assembled to elect who should be their 
king. The choice lay between Robert Bruce and John 
Balliol. As the nobles could not agree, the matter was 
referred to King Edward I, of England, who decided in 
favor of Balliol. The new prince was weak, and, when 
he resented the interference of King Edward in some of 
his affairs, he was easily defeated and driven from the 
kingdom. Scotland was now regarded as a conquered 
country, and the people were terribly oppressed. The 
nobles were deprived of their estates, and the poor peo- 



84 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

pie were taxed to the verge of starvation. For fifteen 
years King Edward held on to his usurped power, while 
the weak king Balliol was wandering in foreign lands, 
paying no attention to the distracted state of his coun- 
try. 

3. At last the oppression became so great that con- 
flicts took place almost daily between the Scotch peasants 
and the English soldiery. On one occasion, a young man 
named William Wallace was out a-fishing with a boy to 
carry the fish. Two or three Enghsh soldiers came along 
and insisted on taking the fish. Wallace offered to divide 
with them, but they insisted on taking the whole, when 
he flew in a rage, killed one with his fishing-pole, and, 
seizing a sword, put the others to flight. He then fled, 
and concealed himself in the mountains until the matter 
blew over. On another occasion he killed an Englishman 
who insulted him at a fair, and fled to his home, where he 
was pursued by the soldiers. He escaped by the back 
door, but the cniel Engh'sh leader, Hazelrigg, put his 
wife and servants to death. From that time Wallace 
devoted himself to fighting the English. He soon col- 
lected a band of outlaws and attacked the English where- 
ever he found a favorable opportunity. He soon had the 
satisfaction of killing Hazelrigg, and of capturing many 
important places. 

4. The Scotch rose everywhere and joined Wallace, 
who soon found himself at the head of a formidable 
army. With this he captured the English fortresses, and 
finally defeated the chief English army under Earl War- 
ren. Scotland was now free, but the English king hast- 
ened back from Flanders to punish the Scotch. The 
battle of Falkirk was fought July 22, 1298, and the 
Scotch were entirely defeated. Wallace again became 
a fugitive, but was betrayed into the hands of Edward, 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN. 85 

and was beheaded and quartered, according to the barba- 
rous custom of the times. 

5. The eyes of all Scotland were now turned to 
Robert Bruce as the only remaining champion who 
would be likely to make head against the English, and 
he accepted the proffered leadership. His principal rival 
was a powerful noble called the Red Comyn, and with 
this rival Bruce sought to make friends. The two met 
in a church, and Comyn flatly refused to join the Scottish 
cause, but openly proclaimed his adherence to the English. 
A quarrel arose, and, in the excitement, Bruce stabbed 
Comyn. Almost paralyzed at his act, he rushed out of 
the house and called for his horse. His friends eagerly 
inquired what was the matter. "I doubt," said Bruce, 
" that I have slain the Red Comyn." " Do not leave the 
matter in doubt," said Kirkpatrick ; "I will make it 
certain." He and his companions then rushed into the 
church and soon dispatched Comyn with their daggers. 

6. This deed is the one great blot upon the name of 
Bruce, and bitterly did he repent of his rashness. It 
called down upon his devoted head the anathema of the 
church for sacrilege in committing violence before the 
holy altar. It arrayed against him the Idnsmen and 
friends of the Red Comyn, and it produced distrust in 
the minds of many true friends of Scotland, who could 
never have confidence in such an impetuous leader. 
Bruce made a vow that, if he succeeded in securing the 
freedom of Scotland, he would do penance for his crime 
by entering upon a crusade and fighting for the holy 
sepulchre. 

7. On the 29th of March, 1306, Bruce was crowned 
king. His enemies immediately attacked and defeated 
him, and he was obliged to take refuge in the mountains 
of the Highlands. Here he was hunted like a wild 



86 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

animal, and was obliged to flee from one fastness to an- 
other. One of the most malignant of his enemies was 
Lord Lorn, a kinsman of the Red Comjn. At one time 
Brnce and his few followers were retreating through a 
narrow pass, when he was set upon by Lorn and a much 
superior force. Sending his followers ahead, he stopped 
his horse in the narrow way, and covered their retreat. 
Upon seeing the king thus alone, three powerful high- 
landmen — a father and two sons — set upon him, deter- 
mined to kill him or take him prisoner for their master, 
Lord Lorn. Bruce struck the first man who came up 
and seized his bridle such a blow with his sword as to 
cut off his hand and free the bridle. The man bled to 
death. The other brother seized him by the leg and at- 
tempted to throw him from his horse. The king, setting 
spurs to the horse, made the animal spring forward so 
that the Highlander fell under the horse's feet, and, as he 
endeavored to rise, the king cleft his head in two with 
his sword. The father, seeing his two sons thus slain, 
flew at Bruce and grasped him in his mantle so close to 
his body that he could not have room to vdeld his long 
sword. But, with an iron hammer which hung at his 
saddle-bow, Bruce dashed out the brains of this new as- 
sailant. The dying man still clung to the king's mantle, 
so that, to get free, Bruce was obliged to undo the 
brooch by which it was fastened, and leave it with the 
mantle behind. This brooch fell into the hands of Lorn, 
and was kept in the family for many generations as a 
memorial of Bruce. 

8. But Bruce was soon reduced to greater straits, and, 
without followers, was obliged to conceal himself in sta- 
bles and caves. In all his misfortunes he never gave up 
the cause of his country, and he sacredly devoted his life 
to the freedom of Scotland. After one of his defeats he 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBUBN 87 

was Ijing one night on a wretched bed in a rude hut, 
while debating in his own mind whether it were not best 
to enlist in a crusade, when his attention was directed to 
a spider on the rafters overhead. He saw that the httle 
spinner was trying to swing from one rafter to another, 
so as to fix his thread across the space. Time and again 
it tried and failed. Admiring the perseverance of the 
creature, Bruce began to count the number of times he 
tried. One, two, three, four, five, six. It suddenly oc- 
curred to Bruce that this was just the number of times he 
had failed in his attempts against the enemy. He then 
made up his mind that if the spider succeeded in the next 
trial he would make one more endeavor to recover his 
kingdom, but if it failed he would start at once for Pales- 
tine. The spider sprang into the air, and this time suc- 
ceeded, so the king resolved upon another trial, and never 
after met with a defeat. 

9. Many a wild story is told of his feats of arms and 
hairbreadth escapes while he wandered about without a 
country. Sir Walter Scott, in his j)oem, " The Lord of 
the Isles," records one of these legends. It is reported 
that, on one occasion, with his brother Edward and sister 
Isabel in a boat, he was driven by stress of weather to 
take refuge in one of the Hebrides upon the western coast, 
the home of Koland, the Lord of the Isles. It happened 
to be a festive occasion, a large assembly having met to 
celebrate the marriage of the Lord of the Isles with the 
sister of the Lord of Lorn. As Bruce entered the banquet- 
hall, Lorn recognized him : 

10. " ^ow, by Columba's shrine I swear, 
And every saint that's buried there, 
'Tis he himself ! " Lorn sternly cries ; 

" And for my kinsman's death he dies ! " 



88 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

As loudly Koland calls, " Forbear ! 
!N^ot in mj sight while brand I wear, 
O'ermatched by odds shall warrior fall, 
Or blood of stranger stain my hall ! 
This ancient fortress of my race 
Shall be misfortune's resting-place. 
Shelter or shield of the distressed, 
Xo slaughter-house of shipwrecked guest ! " 

11. " Talk not to me," fierce Lorn replied, 
" Of odds or match ! When Comyn died, 
Three daggers clashed within his side ! 
Talk not to me of sheltering hall. 
The church of God saw Comyn fall ! 
On God's own altar streamed his blood. 
While o'er my prostrate kinsman stood 
The ruthless murderer — e'en as now — 
With armed hand and scornful brow ! 
Up, all who love me ! blow on blow. 
And lay the outlawed felons low ! " 



12. Then waked the wild del)ate again. 
With brawling threat and clamor vain, 
Yassals and menials thronging in, 
Lent their brute rage to swell the din ; 
When far and wide a bugle clang 
From the dark ocean upward rang. 
" The abbot comes ! " they cried at once, 
" The holy man whose favored glance 

Hath sainted visions known ; 
Angels have met him on the way, 
Beside the blessed martyr's bay. 

And by Columba's stone. 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURK 89 

He comes oar feuds to reconcile, 
A sainted man from sainted isle ; 
We will his holy will abide, 
The abbot shall our strife decide ! " 

13. The abbot on the threshold stood. 
And in his hands the holy rood ; 
Back on his shoulders flowed his hood, 

The torch's glaring ray 
Showed, in its red and flashing light. 
His withered cheek and amice white. 
His blue eye glistening cold and bright, 

His tresses scant and gray. 
" Fair lords," he said, " our lady's love, 
And peace be with you from above. 

And benedicite ! 
But what means this ? no peace is here 1 
Do dirks unsheathed suit bridal cheer ? 

Or are these naked brands 
A seemly show for churchman's sight, 
When he comes summoned to unite 

Betrothed hearts and hands ? " 
Then, cloaking hate with fiery zeal, 
Proud Lorn answered the appeal : 

" Thou comest, O holy man, 
True sons of blessed church to greet, 
But little deeming here to meet 

A wretch, beneath the ban 
Of pope and church, for murder done 
Even on the sacred altar-stone ! 
Well may'st thou wonder we should know 
Such miscreant here, nor lay him low, 
0_r dream of greeting, peace, or truce, 
With excommunicated Bmce ! 



90 TEK GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

Yet will I grant, to end debate, 
Thy sainted' voice decide his fate." 

14. Then Roland pled the stranger's cause 
And knighthood's oath and honor's laws ; 
And Isabel on bended knee 

Brought prayers and tears to back her plea ; 
And Edith lent her generous aid. 
And wept, and Lorn for mercy prayed. 

15. Then Argentine, in England's name, 
So highly urged his sovereign's claim. 
He waked a spark, that, long suppressed, 
Had smoldered in Lord Roland's breast ; 
And now, as from the flint the fire, 
Flashed forth at once his generous ire : 

'* Enough of noble blood," he said, 
"By English Edward had been shed. 
Since matchless Wallace first had been 
In mockery crowned with wreaths of green, 
And done to death by felon hand. 
For guarding well his native land. 
Where's Nigel Bruce ? and De la Haye, 
And valiant Seaton — where are they ? 
Where Somerville, the kind and free ? 
And Eraser, flower of chivalry ? 
Have they not been on gibbet bound, 
Their quarters flung to hawk and hound, 
And hold we here a cold debate 
To yield more victims to their fate ? 
What ! can the English leopard's mood 
I^ever be gorged with Northern blood ? 
Was not the life of Athole shed 
To soothe the tyrant^s sickened bed ? 



BRUCE AND BANNOGKBURK 91 

Nor must his word, till djing day, 

Be nought but quarter, hang, and slay ? " 

16. " Nor deem," said Dunnegan's knight, 
" That thou shalt brave alone the fight ! 
By saints of isle and mainland both, 
By woden wild — my grandsire's oath — 
Let Rome and England do their worst ; 
Howe'er attainted and accursed. 

If Bruce shall e'er find friends again, 

Once more to brave a battle-plain. 

If Douglas couch again his lance, 

Or Randolph dare another chance. 

Old Torquil will not be to lack 

With twice a thousand at his back ; 

Nay, chafe not at my bearing bold. 

Good abbot ! for thou knowest of old, 

TorquiFs rude thought and stubborn will 

Smack of the wild Norwegian still : 

Nor will I barter freedom's cause 

For England's weahh or Rome's applause ! '* 

17. The abbot seemed with eye severe. 
The hardy chieftain's speech to hear ; 
Then on King Robert turned the monk. 
But twice his courage came and sunk. 
Confronted with the hero's look ; 
Twice fell his eye, his accents shook ; 
At length resolved in tone and brow. 
Sternly he questioned him, " And thou 
Unhappy, what hast thou to plead, 
Why I denounce not on thy deed 
That awful doom which canons tell 
Shuts paradise and opens hell ? 



92 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

Anathema of power so dread, 

It blends the living with the dead, 

Bids each good angel soar away, 

And every ill one claim his prey ; 

Expels thee from the church's care. 

And deafens Heaven against thy prayer ; 

Arms every hand against thy life, 

Bans all who aid thee in the strife ; 

JN^ay, each whose snccor, cold and scant, 

With meanest alms relieves thy want ; 

Haunts thee when living ; and, when dead. 

Dwells on thy yet devoted head, 

Rends honor's 'scutcheon from thy hearse, 

Stills o'er thy bier the holy verse. 

And spurns thy corpse from hallowed ground, 

Flung like vile carrion to the hound ; 

Such is the dire and desperate doom 

For sacrilege, decreed by Rome ; 

And such the well-deserved meed 

Of thine unhallowed, ruthless deed." 

18. " Abbot ! " the Bruce replied, " thy charge 
It boots me not to dispute at large ; 
This much, howe'er, I bid thee know, 
No selfish vengeance dealt the blow, 
For Comyn died his country's foe. 
Nor blame I friends whose ill-timed speed 
Fullilled my soon-repented deed. 
Nor censure those from whose stern tongue, 
The dire anathema has rung. 
I only blame my own wild ire. 
By Scotland's wrongs incensed to fire. 
Heaven knows my purpose to atone, 
Far as I may, the evil done. 




Edinburgh Castle. 



94 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

And hears a penitent's appeal, 

From papal curse and prelate zeal. 

My Urst and dearest task achieved, 

Fair Scotland from her thrall relieved, 

Shall many a priest in cope and stole 

Say requiem for Eed Comyn's soul, 

AVhile I the blessed cross advance, 

And expiate this unhappy chance 

In Palestine, with sword and lance. 

But, while content the church should know 

My conscience owns the debt I owe, 

Unto de Argentine and Lorn 

The name of traitor I return. 

Bid them detiance, stern and high. 

And give them in theii- throats the lie ! 

These brief words spoke, 1 speak no more, 

Do as thou wilt ; my shrift is o'er." 

19. Like man by prodigy amazed. 
Upon the king the abbot gazed ; 
Then o'er his pallid features glance 
Convulsions of ecstatic trance. 

His breathing came more thick and fast. 
And from his pale-blue eyes were cast 
Strange rays of wild and wandering light ; 
Uprise his locks of silver white, 
Flushed is his brow, through every vein 
In azure tides the currents strain, 
And undistinguished accents broke 
The awful silence e'er he spoke. 

20. ''De Bruce, I rose with purpose dread 
To speak my curse upon thy head, 



BRUCE AND BANNOGKBURN. 95 

And give thee as an outcast o'er 
To him who burns to shed thy gore ; 
Bat like the Midianite of old 
Who stood on Zophin, heaven-controlled, 
I feel within my aged breast 
A power that can not be repressed. 
It prompts mj voice, it swells my veins, 
It burns, it maddens, it constrains ! 
De Bruce, thy sacrilegious blow 
Hath at God's altar slain thy foe ; 
O'ermastered, yet by high behest, 
I bless thee, and thou shalt be blest ! " 
He spoke, and o'er the astonished throng 
Was silence, awful, deep and long. 
Again that light has fired his eye. 
Again his form swells bold and high, 
The broken voice of age is gone, 
'Tis vigorous manhood's lofty tone : 
" Thrice vanquished on the battle-plain. 
Thy followers slaughtered, fled, or ta'en, 
A hunted wanderer on the wild, 
On foreign shores a man exiled. 
Disowned, deserted, and distressed, 
I bless thee, and thou shalt be blessed ! 
Blessed in the hall and in the field, 
Under the mantle as the shield. 
Avenger of thy country's shame, 
Eestorer of her injured name, 
Blessed in thy scepter and thy sword, 
De Bruce, fair Scotland's rightful lord, 
Blessed in thy deeds and in thy fame, 
What lengthened honors wait thy name ! 
In distant ages, sire to son 
Shall tell the tale of freedom won, 



96 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

And teach his infants, in the use 
Of earliest speech, to falter Bruce. 
Go then, triumphant ! sweep along 
Thy course, the theme of many a song ! 
The power, whose dictates swell my breast, 
Hath blessed thee, and thou shalt be blessed ! " 

21. With the faithful islanders Bruce remained for 
some months, while his friends were making preparations 
for a rising upon the mainland. At last the time came, 
and Bruce, at the head of a little force, landed in the 
night and surprised and captured a castle held by the 
Lord of Lorn. Holding this as a basis of operations, the 
king and his principal followers, Douglas and Randolph, 
went out in different directions to arouse the people 
against their English oppressors, and to raise forces of 
sufficient strength to risk their cause in battle. This was 
a matter of great hazard, as QYery movement of the 
Scotch was closely watched by the enemy, and, when any 
one was suspected of opposing the English rule, he was 
at once imprisoned and probably executed. The patriots 
were obliged to move with great caution, and often to 
secrete themselves in the fastnesses of the mountains or 
in the lonely huts of the peasants. Blood-hounds were 
employed to track the fugitives, and it is related that 
Lorn at one time followed Bruce with a blood-hound that 
had once been his own. The king, seeing that he was 
followed by a large body of soldiers, divided his men into 
three separate parties, hoping to throw the hound off the 
track. The blood-hound, when he came to the point of 
separation, would not even notice the two other divisions, 
but followed that of the king. Finding his last ex- 
pedient had failed, Bruce ordered his whole party to 
disperse, keeping with him only his foster-brother as an 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURK 97 

attendant. When Lorn discovered tlie party had broken 
up, he sent five of his men who were speedy on foot to 
follow the king and put him to death. They ran so fast 
that they soon gained sight of Bruce and his companion. 
The two turned upon the five men of Lorn, who came up 
one by one, exhausted with running, and put them all to 
death. 

22. By this time Bruce was much fatigued, but he 
dared not stop to rest, for he could hear every moment 
the deep bay of the hound. At length they came to a 
wood through which ran a small stream of water. Into 
the stream they waded and followed it for a long dis- 
tance ; the blood-hound followed the track to the water, 
but he could trace the scent no farther, and Lorn gave up 
the chase. But Bruce' s adventures were not at an end. 
After resting themselves in the woods, the two set out to 
find some human habitation, or to fall in with some party 
of their friends. In the midst of the forest they met 
three men who looked like imffians. " They were well 
armed, and one of them bore a sheep on his back, which 
it seemed he had just stolen. They saluted the king 
civilly, and he, replying to their salutation, asked them 
where they were going. The men answered that they 
were seeking for Kobert Bruce, for they intended to join 
him. The king answered that, if they would go with 
him, he would conduct them where they could find the 
Scottish king. Then the man who had spoken changed 
color, and Bruce, who looked sharply at him, began to 
suspect that the ruffian guessed who he was, and that he 
and his companions had some design against his person, 
in order to gain the reward which had been offered for 
his life. , 

23. " So he said to them, ' My good friends, as we are 
not well acquainted with each other, you must go before us, 



98 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

and we will follow near to you.' ' You have no occasion 
to suspect any barm from us,' said the man. ' Neither 
do I suspect any,' said Bruce, ' but this is the way in 
which I choose to travel.' 

2J:. " The men did as be commanded, and thus they 
traveled till they came to a waste and ruinous cottage, 
where the men proposed to dress down part of the sheep 
which they were carrying. The king was glad to hear of 
food, but he insisted that two tires should be kindled, one 
for himself and foster-brother at one end of the cottage, 
the other at the other end for the three companions. 
The men did as he desired. They broiled a quarter of 
the mutton for themselves, and gave another to the king 
and his attendant. They were obliged to eat it without 
bread or salt ; but, as they were very hungry, they were 
glad to get food in any shape, and partook of it heartily. 

25. " Then so heavy a drowsiness fell on King Robert 
that he greatly desired to sleep. But, first, he desired his 
foster-brother to watch as he slept, for he had great sus- 
picion of his new acquaintances. His foster-brother prom- 
ised to keep awake, and did his best to so keep his word. 
But the king had not been long asleep ere his foster- 
brother fell into a deep slumber also, for he had under- 
gone as much fatigue as the king. 

26. " When the three villains saw the king and his 
attendant were asleep, they made signs to each other, and, 
rising up, at once drew their swords with the purj)ose to 
kill them both. But the king slept but lightly, and, as 
little noise as the traitors made in rising, he was awakened 
by it, and, starting up, drew his sword and went to meet 
them. At the same moment he pushed his foster-brother 
with his foot to awaken him, and he started up ; but, ere 
he got his eyes cleared to see what was about him, one of 
the ruffians that were advancing to slay the king killed him 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBUEK 99 

with the stroke of a sword. The king was now alone — 
one man against three, and in the greatest danger of his 
life ; but his amazing strength, and the good armor which 
he wore, freed him from this great danger, and he killed 
the men one by one. 

27. " King Robert was now alone, and he left the cot- 
tage very sorrowful for the death of his foster-brother, 
and took himself in the direction toward where he had 
directed his men to ensemble after their dispersion. It 
was now near night, and, the place of meeting being a 
farm-house, he went boldly into it, where he found the 
mistress, an old true-hearted Scotchwoman, sitting alone. 
Upon seeing a stranger enter, she asked him who and 
what he was. The king answered that he was a traveler, 
who was journeying through the country. ' All travelers,' 
answered the good woman, ' are welcome here for the 
sake of one.' ' And who is that one,' said the king, ' for 
whose sake you make all travelers w^elcome ? ' ' It is our 
lawful King Robert tlie Brace,' answered the mistress, 
'who is the rightful lord of this country; and, although 
he is now pursued and hunted after with hounds and 
horns, I hope to live to see him king over all Scotland.' 

28. '^ ' Since you love him so well, dame,' said the 
king, ' know that you see him before you. I am Robert 
the Bruce.' ' You ! ' said the good woman in great sur- 
prise ; ' and wherefore are you thus alone ? Where are all 
your men ? ' 'I have none with me at this moment,' an- 
swered the Bruce, 'and tLerefore I must travel alone.' 
' But that shall not be,' said the brave old dame, 'for I 
have two stout sons, gallant and trusty men, who shall be 
your servants for life and death ! ' So she brought her 
sons, and, though she well knew the danger to which she 
exposed them, she made them swear fealty to the king ; 
and they afterward became high officers in his service. 



100 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

29. " ]N^ow the lojal old woman was getting everything 
ready for the king's supper, when suddenly there was a 
trampling of horse heard around the house. They thought 
it must be some of the English or John of Lorn's men, and 
the good wife called upon her sons to fight to the last for 
King Robert. But, shortly after, the voices of James of 
Douglas and of Edward Bruce, the king's brother, were 
heard, who had come with a hundred and fifty horsemen 
to this farm-house, according to the instructions of the 
king when they parted. 

30. " Robert the Bruce was right joyful to meet his 
brother and faithful friend Lord James, and had no 
sooner found himself at the head of such a considerable 
body of followers, than, forgetting hunger and weariness, 
he began to inquire w^here the enemy who had pursued 
him so long had taken up their quarters ; ' for,' said he, 
' as they must suppose we are totally scattered and fled, it 
is likely they will think themselves quite secure, and dis- 
perse themselves into distant quarters, and keep careless 
watch.' 

31. '' ' That is very true,' answered James of Douglas ; 
' for I passed a village where there are two hundred of 
them quartered who had placed no sentinels ; and, if you 
have a mind to make haste, we may surprise them this 
very night.' Then there was nothing but mount and 
ride ; and, as the Scots came by surprise on the body of 
the English w^hom Douglas had mentioned, and rushed 
suddenly into the village where they were quartered, they 
easily dispersed and cut them to pieces ; thus doing their 
pursuers more injury than they themselves had received 
during the long and severe pursuit of the preceding day." 

32. On another occasion Bruce, with sixty men, was 
wandering in the county of Galloway, awaiting the gather- 
ing of forces. IN^ow the people of Galloway are mostly 



i 



BRUCE AND BANKOCKBURN'. 101 



friendly to the Lord of Lorn, and a large number of tliem 
collected, determined to capture him. They felt sure of 
the success of their enterprise, as they had a blood-hound 
to track the king, and had such superior numbers. 

33. " ]^ow Bruce, who was always watchful and vigi- 
lant, had received some information of this party to come 
upon him suddenly in the night. Accordingly, he quar- 
tered his party of sixty men on the farther side of a deep 
and swift-running river, that had very steep and rocky 
banks. There was but one ford by which this river could 
be crossed in the neighborhood, and that ford was deep 
and narrow, so that two men could scarcely get through 
abreast ; the bank on which they were to land on the 
other side was steep, and the path that led upward from 
the water's edge extremely narrow and difficult. 

34. " Bruce caused his men to lie down and sleep, at a 
place about half a mile distant from the river, while he, 
with two attendants, went down to watch the ford, and 
thinking how easily the enemy might be kept from pass- 
ing there, providing it was bravely defended — when he 
heard the distant baying of a hound, which was always 
coming nearer and nearer. This was the blood-hound 
which was tracing the king's steps to the ford where he 
had crossed, and the two hundred Galloway men were 
along with the animal and guided by it. Bruce thought 
of going back to awaken his men ; but then he thought it 
might be some shepherd's dog. ' My men,' said he, ' are 
sorely tired ; I will not disturb them by the barking of a 
cur till I know something more of the matter.' 

35. " So he stood and listened ; and, by and by, as the 
cry of the hound came nearer, he began to hear the tramp- 
ling of horses, and the voices of men, and the ringing and 
clattering of armor; and then he was sure the enemy 
were coming to the river-side. Then the king thought, 



102 TEN GREA T EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

' If I go back to give my men the alarm, these Galloway 
men will get through the ford without opposition, and 
that would be a pity, since it is a place so advantageous 
to make a defense ao*ainst them.' So he looked asain at 
the steep path and tlie deep river, and he thought it gave 
him so much advantage that he could defend the passage 
with his own hand until his men came to assist him. His 
armor was so good and strong that he had no fears of 
their arrows, and therefore the combat was not so very 
unequal as it must have otherwise seemed. He therefore 
sent his followers to waken his men, and remained alone 
on the bank of the river. 

36. " In the meanwhile the noise and the trampling 
of the horses increased, and, the moon being bright, Bruce 
saw the glancing arms of about two hundred men, who 
came down to tlie opposite bank of the river. The men 
of GaUoway, on their part, saw but one solitary figure 
guarding the ford, and the foremost of them plunged into 
the river without minding him. Brace, who stood high 
above them on the bank where they were to land, killed 
the foremost man with a thrust of his long spear, and 
with a second thrust stabbed the horse, which fell down, 
kicking and plunging in his agonies, on the narrow path, 
and so preventing the others from getting out of the river. 
In the confusion five or six of the enemy were slain, or, 
having been borne down the current, were drowned in the 
river. The rest were terrified, and drew back. 

37. " But, when they looked again and saw only one 
man, they themselves being so many, they cried out that 
their honor would be lost forever if they did not force 
their way ; and encouraged each other with loud cries to 
plunge in and assault him. But by this time the king's 
soldiei^s came up to his assistance, and the Galloway men 
retreated and gave up their enterprise." 



BRUCE AND BANN'OCKBURN. 108 

38. These successes of Bruce inspired great confidence, 
and he soon found himself at the head of a formidable 
force. With this he marched up and down the country, 
and compelled the English to keep strictly within their 
castles and fortified places ; and even several of these were 
captured. King Edward I, of England, heard of these 
successes of Bruce with astonishment and rage. Though 
old and sorely diseased, he raised a large army and marched 
for the north ; but he had scarcely crossed the Scottish 
border when his physician infonned him that he had but 
a few hours to live. He immediately called his son to his 
bed-side, and made him swear that he would push forward 
this expedition against the Bruce ; and he died cursing 
the whole Scotch people. He even gave direction that 
his body should be boiled, and that his bones, wrapj)ed in 
a bull's hide, should be carried at the head of the army as 
often as the Scots attempted to recover their freedom. 

39. Edward II was a weak prince, neither so wise nor 
so brave as his father. He marched a little way on to 
Scotland, but, having no great liking for war, he turned 
and marched back into England. He disregarded his 
father's injunction about the dis]30sition of his bones, 
but took them back to London, and deposited them in 
Westminster Abbey. 

40. From this time the cause of Bruce was a succession 
of victories. During the winter and spring one English 
fortress after another surrendered, until there only re- 
mained the strong castle of Stirling held by the English 
power. This castle was besieged, and Sir Philip Mow- 
bray, the commander, agreed to surrender it if it was not 
reinforced by the English before midsummer. Then came 
a cessation of hostilities, and a period of rest for the Scots. 
King Edward had made no arrangement to again interfere 
in Scottish affairs. But now, when Sir Philip Mowbray, 



104 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the governor of Stirling, came to London to tell the king 
that Stirling, the last Scottish town of importance which 
remained in possession of the English, was to be surren- 
dered if it were not relieved bj force of arms before mid- 
summer, then all the English nobles called out, it would 
be a sin and shame to permit the fair conquest which Ed- 
w^ard I had made to be forfeited to the Scots for want of 
fighting. It was, therefore, resolved that the king should 
go himself to Scotland with as great forces as he could 
possibly muster. 

41. King Edward II, therefore, assembled one of the 
greatest armies which a king of England ever commanded. 
There were troops brought from all his dominions. Many 
brave soldiers from the French provinces which the king 
of England enjoyed in France ; many Irish, many Welsh, 
and all the great English nobles and barons, with their 
followers, were assembled in one great army. The num- 
ber was not less than one hundred thousand men. 

42. King Kobert the Bruce summoned all his nobles 
and barons to join him, when he heard of the great prep- 
aration which the king of England was making. They 
were not so numerous as the English by many thousand 
men. In fact, his whole army did not very much exceed 
thirty thousand men, and they were much worse armed 
than the wealthy Englishmen ; but then Robert, who was 
at their head, was one of the most expert generals of the 
time, and the officers he had under him were his brother 
Edward, his nephew Randolph, his faithful follower the 
Douglas, and other brave and experienced leaders, who 
commanded the same men that had been accustomed to 
fight and gain victories under every disadvantage of situ- 
ation and numbers. 

43. The king, on his part, studied how he might sup- 
ply, by address and stratagem, what he wanted in num- 



BRUCE AND BANNOGEBURN. 105 

bers and strength. He knew the snperioritj of the Eng- 
lish both in their heavj-armed cavahy, which were mnch 
better mounted and armed than those of the Scots, and in 
the archerj, in which art the English were better than 
any people in the world. Both these advantages he re- 
solved to provide against. With this purpose, Bruce led 
his army down into a plain, near Stirling, called the Park, 
near which, and beneath it, the English army must needs 
pass through a boggy country, broken with water-courses, 
while the Scots occupied hard, dry ground. He then 
caused all the hard ground upon the front of his line of 
battle, where cavalry were likely to act, to be dug full of 
holes, about as deep as a man's knee. They were filled 
with light brushwood, and -the turf was laid on the top, 
so that it appeared a plain field, while in reality it was all 
as full of these pits as a honeycomb is of holes. He also, it 
is said, caused steel spikes, called calthrops, to be scattered 
up and down in the plain, where the English cavalry were 
most likely to advance, trusting to lame and destroy their 
horses. 

44. When his army was drawn, the line stretched 
north and south. On the south it was terminated by the 
banks of the brook called Bannockburn, which are so 
rocky that no troops could come on them there. On the 
left the Scottish line extended near to the town of Stir- 
ling. Bruce reviewed his troops very carefully ; all the 
useless servants and drivers of carts, and such like, of 
whom there were very many, he ordered to go behind a 
height called the Gillies' Hill — that is, the Servants' Hill. 
He then spoke to the soldiers, and expressed his determi- 
nation to gain the victory or to lose his life on the field of 
battle. He desired that all those who did not propose to 
fight to the last would leave the field before the battle 
began, and that none would remain except those who were 



10(> T/:x oh'FAT r:vi':xTS ix nisioi^r. 

dotenuined to take tlie issue of victory or death, as God 
should send it. 

45. Burns has expressed Bruce's sentiments in his 
fiery poem. 

BRUCE'S ADDRESS. 

40. Scots who have with 'Wallace bled, 
Scots whom Bruce has often led, 
Welcome to your gory bed 

Or to victory ! 
Now's the day, and now's the hour; 
See the front of battle lower ; 
See approach proud Edward's power, 

Chains, and slavery ! 

47. AVho would be a traitor knave, 
Who would till a coward's grave, 
Who so base as be a slave. 

Let him turn and tiee ! 
Who for Scotland's king and law, 
Freedom's sword will strongly draw, 
Freenuin stand, or freeman fa'. 

Let him follow me ! 

4S. By oppressions, woes, and pains. 
By oiu' sons in servile chains. 
We will drain our dearest veins, 

But they shall be free ! 
Lay the proud usurper low ! 
Tyrants fall in every foe — 
Libertv at everv blow ; 

Let us do or die ! 

40. When the main body of his army was thus placed 
in order, the king posted Randolph, with a body of hoi-se, 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN. 107 

near to the church of St. Mirau's, commanding him to use 
the utmost dihgence to prevent any succorers from being 
thrown into StirHng Castle. He then dismissed James 
of Douglas and Sir Robert Keith, the marshal of the 
Scottish armj, in order that they might survey, as nearly 
as they could, tlie English force, which was now ap- 
proaching from Falkirk. They returned with informa- 
tion that the approach of that vast host was one of the 
most beautiful and terrible sights which could be seen ; 
that the whole country seemed covered with men-at-arms 
on horse and foot ; that the number of standard banners 
and pennants made so gallant a sliow, that the bravest 
and most numerous host in Christendom might be alarmed 
to see King Edward moving against them. 

50. It was upon the 23d of June, 1314, that the 
King of Scotland heard the news that the English army 
were approaching Stirling. He drew out his army, 
therefore, in the order which he had before resolved 
upon. After a short time, Bruce, who was looking out 
anxiously for the enemy, saw a body of English cavalry 
trying to get into Stirling from the eastward. This was 
the Lord Clifford, who, with a chosen body of eight hun- 
dred horse, had been detached to relieve the castle. 

51. " See, Randolph," said the king to his nephew, 
" there is a rose fallen from your chaplet." By this he 
meant that Randolph has lost some honor by suffering 
the enemy to pass where he had been commanded to fol- 
low them. Randolph made no reply, but rushed against 
Clifford with little more than half his number. The 
Scots were on foot. The English turned to charge them 
with their lances, and Randolph drew up his men in close 
order to receive them. He seemed to be in so much dan- 
ger that Douglas asked leave of the king to go and assist 
him. The king refused permission. 



108 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

52. " Let Randolph," he said, " redeem his own fault. 
I can not break the order of battle for his sake." Still 
the danger appeared greater, and the English horse 
seemed entirely to encompass the small handful of Scot- 
tish infantry, " To please you," said Douglas to the 
king, " my heart will not suffer me to stand idle and see 
Randolph perish. I must go to his assistance." He rode 
oif accordingly, but long before they had reached the 
place of combat they saw the English horses galloping 
off, many with their empty saddles, 

63. " Halt ! " said Douglas to his men. " Randolph 
has gained the day. Since we were not soon enough to 
help him in the battle, do not let us lessen his glory by 
approaching the field." Now, that was nobly done, 
especially as Douglas and Randolph were always contend- 
ing which should rise highest in the good opinion of the 
king and the nation. 

64. The van of the English army now came in sight, 
and a number of their bravest knights drew near to see 
what the Scottisli were doing. They saw King Robert 
dressed in his armor, and distinguished by a gold crown 
which he wore over his helmet. He was not mounted 
on his great war horse, because he did not expect to fight 
that evening. But he rode on a little pony up and down 
the ranks of his army, putting his men in order, and car- 
ried in his hand a short battle-axe made of steel. When 
the king saw the English horsemen draw near, he ad- 
vanced a little before his own men, that he might look at 
them more nearly. . . 

65. There was a knight among the English called Sir 
Henry de Bohun, who thought this would be a good 
opportunity to gain great fame to himself and put an end 
to the war by killing King Robert. The king being 
poorly mounted, and having no lance, Bohun galloped 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURK 109 

on him suddenly and furiously, thinking, with his long 
spear and his big strong horse, easily to bear him down 
to the ground. King Robert saw him and permitted 
him to come very near, then suddenly turned his pony a 
little to one side, so that Sir Henry missed him with the 
lance point, and was in the act of being carried past him 
by the career of his horse. But as he passed, King 
Robert rose up in his stirrups and struck Sir Henry on 
the head with his battle-axe so terrible a blow that it 
broke to pieces his iron helmet, as if it had been a nut- 
shell, and hurled him from his saddle. He was dead be- 
fore he reached the ground. This gallant action was 
blamed by the Scottish leaders, who thought Bruce ought 
not to have exposed himself to so much danger when the 
safety of the whole army depended on him. The king 
only kept looking at his weapon, which was injured by 
the force of the blow, and said, " I have broken my good 
battle-axe." This is the way Scott describes this incident 
in the " Lord of the Isles " : 

56. O gay yet fearful to behold. 

Flashing with steel and rough with gold, 
And bristled o'er with balls and spears. 
With plumes and pennons waving fair, 
Was that bright battle front ! for there 
Rode England's king and peers. 

57. And who that saw that monarch ride, 
His kingdom battling by his side, 
Could then his direful doom foretell ; 
Fair was his seat in knightly selle, 
And in his sprightly eye was set 
Some sparks of the Plantagenet. 



110 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

Though bright and wandering was his glance^ 
It flashed at sight of shield and lance. 
" Knowest thou," he said, " De Argentine, 
Yon knight who marshals thus their line ? " 

68. " The tokens on his helmet tell 

The Bruce, my liege ; I know him well." 
" And shall the audacious traitor brave 
The presence where our banners wave ? " 
" So please my liege," said Argentine, 
" Were he but horsed on steed like mine. 
To give him fair and knightly chance, 
I would adventure forth my lance." 

59. " In battle-day," the king replied, 
" Nice tourney rules are set aside ; 
Still must the rebel dare our wrath ! 

Set on him — sweep him from our path ! " 
And, at King Edward's signal, soon 
Dashed from the ranks Sir Edward Bohun ! 

60. Of Hereford's high blood he came, 
A race renowned for knightly fame ; 
He burned before his monarch's eye 
To do some deed of chivalry. 

He spurred his steed, he couched his lance, 

And darted on the Bruce at once. 

As motionless as rocks, that bide 

The wrath of the advancing tide. 

The Bruce stood fast ; each breast beat high. 

And dazzled was each gazing eye ; 

The heart had hardly time to think. 

The eyelid scarce had time to wink, 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURN, \\\ 

While on the king, like flash of flame, 
Spurred to full speed, the war-horse came ! 
The partridge may the falcon mock. 
If that slight palfrey stand the shock ; 
But, swerving from the knight's career, 
Just as they met, Bruce shunned the spear ; 
Onward the baffled warrior bore 
His course — but soon his course was o'er ! 
High in his stirrups stood the king. 
And gave his battle-axe the swing. 
Right on De Bohun, the whiles he passed. 
Fell that stern dint — the first — the last ! 
Such strength upon the blow was put. 
The helmet crushed like hazel-nut, 
The axe-shaft, with its brazen clasp. 
Was shivered to the gauntlet grasp. 
Springs from the blow the startled horse, 
Drops on the plain the lifeless corse ; 
First of that fatal field, how soon, 
How sudden fell the fierce De Bohun ! 

61. One pitying glance the monarch shed 
Where on the field his foe lay dead ; 
Then gently turned his palfrey's head, 
And, pacing back his sober way, 
Slowly he gained his own array. 
There round their king the leaders crowd 
And blame his recklessness aloud. 
That risked 'gainst each adventurous spear 
A life so valued and so dear. 
His broken weapon's shaft surveyed 
The king, and careless answer made : 
" My loss must pay my folly's tax — 
I've broke my trusty battle-axe." 



112 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

62. The next morning, being the 24tli of June, at 
break of day the battle began in terrible earnest. The 
English as they advanced saw the Scots getting into line. 
The Abbot of Inchaffray walked through their ranks bare- 
footed, and exhorted them to fight for their freedom. 
They kneeled down as he passed, and prayed to heaven 
for victory. King Edward, who saw this, called out : 
" They kneel down ; they are asking forgiveness." " Yes," 
said a celebrated English baron, called Ingelram de Um- 
phraville, " but they ask it from God, not from us ; these 
men will conquer, or die upon the field." The English 
king ordered his men to begin the battle. The archers 
then bent their bows, and began to shoot so closely to- 
gether that the arrows fell like flakes of snow on a Christ- 
mas-day. 

63. Upon the right, behind the wood, 
Each by his steed, dismounted, stood 

The Scottish chivalry ; 
With foot in stirrup, hand on mane. 
Fierce Edward Bruce can scarce restram 
His own keen heart, his eager train. 
Until the archers gain the plain ; 

Then " Mount ye gallants free ! " 
He cried ; and, vaulting from the ground, 
His saddle every horseman found. 
On high their glittering crests they toss, 
As springs the wild-fire from the moss 5 
The shield hangs down on every breast, 
Each ready lance is in the rest, 

And loud shouts Edward Bruce : 
" Forth, marshal ! on the peasant foe \ 
"We'll tame the terrors of their bow, 

And cut the bow-string loose ! " 



BRUCE AND BANNOCKBURK . 113 

64. Then spurs were dashed in chargers' flanks, 
They rushed among the archer ranks. 

E^o spears were there the shock to let, 

No stakes to turn the charge were set, 

And how shall yeoman's armor slight. 

Stand the long lance and mace of might ? 

Or what may their short swords avail, 

'Gainst barbed horse and shirt of mail ? 

Amid their ranks the chargers spring, 

High o'er their heads the weapons swing, 

And shriek and groan and vengeful shout 

Give note of triumph and of rout ! 

Awhile, with stubborn hardihood, 

Their English hearts the strife made good ; 

Borne down at length on every side. 

Compelled to flight, they scatter wide. 

Let stags of Sherwood leap for glee. 

And bound the deer of Dallorn-Lee ! 

The broken bows of Bannock's shore 

Shall in the greenwood ring no more ! 

Round Wakefield's merry May-pole now. 

The maids may twine the summer bough. 

May northward look with longing glance 

For those that went to lead the dance. 

For the blithe archers look in vain ! 

Broken, dispersed, in flight o'erta'en. 

Pierced through, trod down, by thousands slain. 

They cumber Bannock's bloody plain ! 

65. The fine English cavalry then advanced to support 
their archers, and to attack the Scottish line. But com- 
ing over the ground which was dug full of pits the horses 
fell into these holes, and the riders lay tumbling about, 
without any means of defense, and unable to rise, from 



114 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the weight of their armor. The Enghshmen began to fall 
into general disorder ; and the Scottish king, bringing up 
more of his forces, attacked and pressed them still more 
closely. 

06. On a sudden an event happened which decided 
the victory. The servants and attendants on the Scottish 
camp had been sent behind the army to a place called 
Gillies' Hill ; but now, when they saw that their masters 
w^ere like to gain the day, they rushed from their place 
of concealment with such weapons as they could get, 
that they might have their share in the victory and in 
the spoil. The English, seeing them come suddenly 
over the hill, mistook the disorderly rabble for a new 
army coming up to sustain the Scots ; and, losing all 
heart, began to shift every man for himself. Edward 
himself left the Held as fast as he could ride, and was 
closely pursued by Douglas, with a party of horse, who 
followed him as far as Dunbar, where the Enghsli had 
still a friend in the governor, Patrick, Earl of Maus. The 
earl received Edward in his forlorn condition, and fur- 
nished him with a fishing skiff, or small ship, in which he 
escaped to England, having entirely lost his fine army, 
and a great number of his bravest nobles. 

67. The English never before or afterward lost so 
dreadful a battle as that of Bannockburn, nor did the 
Scots ever gain one of the same importance. Many of 
the best and bravest of the English nobility and gentry 
lay dead on the field ; a great many more were made 
prisoners, and the whole of King Edward's immense 
army was dispersed or destroyed. 

68. Thus did Robert Bruce arise from the condition 
of an exile, hunted with blood-hounds like a stag or beast 
of prey, to the rank of an independent sovereign, univer- 
sally a(d-^nowledged to be one of the wisest and bravest 



BRUCE AND BARNOCKBURN. 115 

kings wlio then lived. The nation of Scotland was also 
raised once more from the state of a distressed and con- 
quered province to that of a free and independent state, 
governed by its own laws, and subject to its own princes ; 
and although the country was, after the Brace's death, 
often subjected to great loss and distress, both by the hos- 
tility of the English and by the unhappy civil wars among 
the Scots themselves, yet they never afterward lost the 
freedom for which Wallace had laid down his life, and 
which King Robert had recovered no less by his wisdom 
than by his weapons. And therefore most just it is that, 
while the country of Scotland retains any recollection of 
its history, the memory of these brave warriors and faith- 
ful patriots ought to be remembered with honor and grati- 
tude. 

69. In 1 328, fourteen years after the battle of Bannock- 
burn, peace was concluded between England and Scotland, 
in which the English surrendered all pretension to the 
Scottish crown. King Robert was now fifty- four years 
old, and he prepared to enter upon a crusade in accord- 
ance with his vow, and in expiation of his offense of slay- 
ing the Eed Comyn. But, being smitten with a fatal dis- 
ease, he directed Lord James, of Douglas, upon his death, 
to take his heart and carry it to Palestine, in fulfillment 
of his vow. Douglas accepted the sacred trust, and en- 
cased the heart in silver, and hung it about his neck. On 
his way to the Holy Land he turned aside to help the 
Spaniard in a campaign against the Moors. In one battle, 
being sorely beset, lie flung the heart of Bruce into the 
midst of the enemy, and followed it up with the war-cry 
of the Douglas, which had so often cheered to victory 
among his native hills. At every step a Moslem bit the 
dust until he reached the spot where his master's heart 
had fell. Here he was slain by the numbers which pressed 



116 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

in on every side, and he was found -with Lis body still in 
the attitude of guarding the heart. The body of Lord 
James, together with the heart, were returned to Scotland. 
The precious relic — the last that remained of the Bruce, 
the greatest of Scottish kings — was deposited in Melrose 
Abbey, where it remains to-day a sacred shrine for every 
Scotchman, and for every lover of liberty. Rarely in the 
history of man has the prediction of the old abbot been 
so literally fulfilled : 

" I bless thee, and thou shalt be blest ! " 



i- 



CHAPTER V. 
COLUMBUS AMD THE J^EW WORLD. 

THE TIME. 

1. CoLiBiBus li^ed in a stirring age. Everywhere 
light was breaking in after centuries of darkness, and all 
Europe was restless with suggestions and beginnings of 
new life. Great men were plenty ; rulers, like the 
Medici of Florence ; artists, like Raphael and Angelo ; 
preachers, like Savonarola, whose fiery prophecies brought 
him to fiery death; reformers, chief among them Luther, 
just beginning to think the thoughts that later set the 
world agog. Great inventions were spreading; gun- 
powder, invented before, now becoming terribly effective 
through the improvement in guns; printing, suddenly 
opening knowledge to every class; the little compass, 
with which mariners were just beginning to trust them- 
selves boldly on the seas, in spite of the popular impres- 
sion that it was a sort of infernal machine presided over 
by the devil himself. 

2. And to this age had been bequeathed the fascinat- 
ing stories of Sir John Mandeville and Marco Polo, 
stories to make every boy crazy to be off to seek his 
fortune. From their travels in Asia these men had 
brought back the most remarkable accounts of these 
eastern lands. " A country was there," they said, " called 




B^!^^#*irl^^ 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 119 

Catliaj, bordering on the sea. It was ruled by an em- 
peror, the Kubla Khan, or Great Khan, who lighted his 
bedroom with a bright jewel half a foot long, set upon 
golden pillars, and decorated his walls with wrought gold 
and hundreds of precious stones. The rivers of the land 
were crossed by marble bridges, and the houses were 
roofed and paved with gold. The seas were full of 
islands where spices grew and countless strange creatures 
lived : one-eyed men ; men with a lip long enough to 
cover their whole face ; men with only one foot, but that 
so large that they held it over them like an umbrella 
when they lay down in the sun to rest ; two-headed men 
and men with no heads at all ; men whose only food was 
snakes, and others whose favorite beverage was human 
blood ; dragons and unicorns ; woolly hens and sheej) 
that grew on trees ; and in one island a valley where only 
devils dwelt. But there were besides great hillg of gold, 
cities with towers of silver and gold, precious stones of 
all kinds, and rose-tinted pearls, big and round." 

3. There was trade between Europe and certain parts 
of Asia which they called the Indies, and reached by 
going east and south by land ; but this marvelous country 
of the Grand Khan lay beyond, and its riches remained a 
golden dream, known only by the travelers' reports. 
That was what was known of Asia. Of Africa, even 
less ; for iifty years before Columbus was born only a 
strip across the northern part of it was known, and south 
of that lay •' nothing," said the people. And of Amer- 
ica, our wide-stretching America, they never dreamed. 

4. Some fifty years before the birth of Columbus, 
Prince Henry of Portugal, studying the matter, came to 
the conclusion that the world did not necessarily end at 
" Cape Nothing," on the African coast, as people said, 
but perhaps extended a long way farther ; and, having an 



120 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

abundance of time and money, lie began to send out ships 
to sail along beyond the cape and see what they could 
find. And they found a long, long coast. Year after 
year, until the prince was a gray-haired old man, he sent 
out vessel after vessel ; and, though often storm-driven 
and wrecked, and unsuccessful, they many times came 
back with accounts of new discoveries. One by one they 
brought the numerous islands lying off the northwest 
coast of Africa to the notice of the people of Europe. 
And after they once got past that mysterious " Cape 
Nothing," they sailed along the coast, going farther and 
farther on successive voyages, until, in 14:87, long after 
Prince Henry's death, and just before Columbus's great 
voyage, the most southern point was rounded, the African 
continent was known, and the long-sought water-way to 
the Indies was established. 

THE IDEA. 

5. As to the date of Columbus's birth, historians can 
not agree within some ten years. It was doubtless some- 
where between 1435 and 1416. They also give different 
accounts as to his birthplace ; but it seems most probable 
that he was born in Genoa, on the Mediterranean, the son 
of a wool-carder, and that he went to school in Pavia. 
At fourteen he became a sailor. 

6. Up and down the seas, first in the sunny Medi- 
terranean, later along the stormy Atlantic coast, sailed 
the lad, the young man, in the small sailing vessels of the 
time, and learned well the ocean which he afterward so 
boldly trusted. 

1. He was a daring, quick-witted, handsome, bronzed 
young man when he went to Lisbon, where his brother 
Bartholomew was established as a cosmographer, making 



122 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

charts for seamen ; and with all his enthusiasm for his 
sea-faring life, he had enough interest in ordinary pur- 
suits to fall in love most romantically. It happened on 
account of his being so regular at church. Every day he 
must attend service, and every day to church came Donna 
Philippa Palestrello, who lived in a convent near by. 
Across the seats flitted involuntary glances between the 
cloistered maiden and the handsome brown sailor — with a 
dimple in his chin, some pictures have him ; something 
besides prayers were read between the lines of the prayer- 
book, and the marriage which closed this churchly wooing 
proved the wisdom of both parties. 

8. Philippa's father had been one of Prince Henry's 
famous seamen and the governor of Porto Santo, one of 
the new-found islands ; and after his marriage, Columbus 
lived sometimes at Porto Santo, sometimes at Lisbon, and 
much of the time on the sea. He sailed south along the 
African coast to Guinea ; north he sailed to England, and 
farther on to Iceland. Wherever ships could go, there 
went he, intent on learning all there was to know of the 
world he lived in. He read eagerly all that was written 
about the earth's shape and size. The modern science of 
Ms time he well understood. He pored over the maps of 
the ancient geographer Ptolemy, over the maps of Cos- 
mas, a later geographer, over Palestrello's charts, given 
him by Philippa' s mother. 

9. Ptolemy said the world is round, but Cosmas, whom 
good Christians were bound to believe, since he founded 
his science on the Bible, said it is flat, with a wall around 
it to hold up the sky — very probable, certainly. But that 
notion of the ancients that the world is "round like a 
ball " had been caught up and believed by a handful of 
men scattered sparsely down through the centuries, and 
of late liad gained, among advanced scientists, more of a 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 123 

following than ever. And Columbus, who, with all his 
enthusiasm for adventure and his reverence for rehgion 
and the chnrch, had a clear, unbiassed, scientific head, 
mentally turned his back upon Cosmas, and clasped hands 
with the ancients and the wisest scientists of his own day. 

10. The north was known, the sonth was fast becom- 
ing so, the east had been penetrated, but the west was un- 
explored. Stretching along from Thule, the distant Ice- 
land, to the southern part of the great African continent, 
thousands of miles, lay the " Sea of Darkness," as the peo- 
ple called it. What lay beyond ? The question had been 
asked before, times enough ; times enough answered for 
any reasonable man. " Hell was there," said one supersti- 
tion, " Haven't you seen the flames at sunset-time ? " "A 
sea thick like paste, in which no ships can sail," said an- 
other. " Darkness," said another, " thick darkness, the 
blackness of nothing, and the end of all created things ! " 

11. There luas a legend that over there beyond was 
Paradise, and St. Brandan, wandering about the seas, had 
reached it. The ancients told of an island Atlantis over 
there somewhere in the West, and one of them had said : 
" In the last days an age will come when ocean shall loose 
the chains of things ; a wonderful country will be discov- 
ered, and Tiphis shall make known new worlds, nor shaU 
Thule be the end of the earth." 

12. Ah, to be the discoverer of Atlantis or Paradise ! 
'^ But, if the world is round," said Columbus, " it is not 
hell that lies beyond that stormy sea. Over there must 
lie the eastern strand of Asia, the Cathay of Marco Polo, 
the land of the Kubla Khan, and Cipango, the great isl- 
and beyond it." " Nonsense ! " said the neighbors ; '^ the 
world isn't round — can't you see it is flat ? And Cosmas 
Indicopleustes, who lived hundreds of years before you 
were born, says it is flat ; and he got it from the Bible. 



124 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

You're no good Christian to be taking up with such hea- 
thenish notions ! " Thought Columbus, " I will write to 
Paolo Toscanelli, at Florence, and see what he will say." 

13. So Columbus wrote, and Toscanelli, the wise sci- 
entist, answered that the idea of sailing west was good 
and feasible ; and with the letter came a map, on which 
Asia and the great island Cipango were laid down oppo- 
site Europe, with the Atlantic between, exactly as Colum- 
bus imagined it. Toscanelli said it was easy enough : 
'' You may be certain of meeting with extensive king- 
doms, populous cities, and rich provinces, abounding in 
all sorts of precious stones ; and your visit will cause great 
rejoicing to the king and princes of those distant lands, 
besides opening a way for communication between them 
and the Christians, and the instruction of them in the 
Catholic region and the arts we possess." It was 1474 
when this encouragement came, and from this time all the 
sailor s thoughts and plans turn toward the west. 

14. The life at home between his voyages, whether 
spent with his brother, the cosmographer, at Lisbon, or 
with his wife and sailor brother-in-law, on the Porto Santo 
island, was hardly less nautical than the voyages them- 
selves. Porto Santo was in line with the ship-routes to 
and from Spain and all the new-found African coast and 
islands ; and the family there, with the men sailors and 
geographers, and the women, wives and daughters of sail- 
ors and geographers, lived in the bracing salt sea-air, full 
of the tingle of adventure. 

15. Wild stories tell the sailors, coming and going, 
whom one can scarce contradict for lack of certain knowl- 
edge ; and is it not an age of wonders in real life ? And 
the round earth, the round earth — is it round ? And the 
empire of the Grand Khan just over the western water 
there — not far ! The sailors said that on the shores of one 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 125 

of the islands two dead men of strange appearance had 
been washed in from the west. The sailors said they had 
picked up cnrionsly-carved sticks drifting from the west. 
Pedro Correa himself, Columbus's brother-in-law, and a 
man to be trusted, had found one floating from the west. 
And there was a legend of the sight of land lying like a 
faint cloud along that western horizon. 

16. " The world is round," said Columbus. " It is not 
very large ^' (he thought it much smaller than it is), "and 
opposite us across that sea lies Asia ; and to Asia by way 
of that sea I will go. There, in the west, lies my duty to 
God and man ; I will carry salvation to the heathen, and 
bring back gold for the Christians. From the ' Occident 
to the Orient ' a path I will find through the waters." 

THE WAITING. 

17. Such a venture as Columbus proposed could scarcely 
be carried out at that time except by the help of kings, so 
to the kings went Columbus. 

18. Naturally, Portugal, with her proved interest in 
discovery, came first in his thought ; and before Portu- 
gal's king he laid his project. The king should fit him 
out with vessels and men, and with them Columbus would 
sail to the Indies, not by the route around Africa, which 
the Portuguese had so long been seeking, but by a nearer 
^ay — straight across the Atlantic. Think of the untold 
wealth from the empire of the khan rolling in to Portu- 
gal if this connection could be established ! And think 
of converting those heathen to our blessed mother church ! 
It was worth thinking about, and the king called a coun- 
cil of his wise men to consider the startling idea. Not 
long were the wise men in wisely deciding that the plan 
was the wild scheme of an adventurer, likely to come to 



126 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

no good whatever ; and when the king, hardly satisfied, * 
laid it before another council, they, too, wisely declared it 
ridiculous. 

19. O ye owlish dignitaries ! Still, the king was not 
convinced. "We have discovered much by daring ad- 
venture, why not more ? " '^ Stick to the coast, and don't 
go sailing straight away from all known land into waters 
unknown and mysterious," said the wise men. " But if 
the unknown waters bring us to the riches of Cathay ? " 
said the king. " That's the extravagant dream of a vision- 
ary; it contains no truth and much danger," said the 
wise men. " Try it yourself, and see. Unbeknown to 
this Columbus, just send out a ship of your own to the 
west, and let them come back and tell us what they find." 

20. It was a most underhand piece of business all 
around ; but the king yielded and sent out a ship, which 
presently came back again with the report that there was 
no Cathay there, and they hadn't found any Cipango ; it 
was all nonsense ! And what they had met with was a big 
storm that scared them terribly. So Columbus retired, 
and left the king of Portugal to his brave sailors and wise 
councilors. 

21. IS^ext will come Spain, and meantime he will send 
his brother Bartholomew to present the plan at the Eng- 
lish court. 

22. The Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, 
were down in Andalusia, that beautiful southern province 
of Spain, in the midst of a war with the Moors, who occu- 
pied certain portions of the land, and whom the Spaniards 
were trying to drive out. So, his wife being now dead, 
Columbus took his little boy Diego, and to Andalusia they 
went. They stopped at Palos by the sea, and from there 
set out on foot. The way was long, and Diego could not 
go far without getting very thirsty ; and his farthest op- 



COLUMBUS AND TEE NEW WORLD. 127 

ping at a great, dark, stone convent, called Maria de la 
Rabida, to get him a drink, the prior asked them in to 
rest a bit. As thej talked, Columbus soon told of his 
great project, to sail to the Indies by waj of the west- 
ern sea. 

23. The prior, in his long dark robe and shaved head, 
opened his eyes at this and wanted to hear more. " Kovel 
project this," thought he ; "very novel — most astonishing ! 
I must have my friend. Dr. Fernandez, hear it." So a 
messenger was sent to Palos to fetch the doctor, and Co- 
lumbus went over again the wonderful plan — just to sail 
west, not so very far, over the round earth, and reach the 
stately cities of Cathay, and convert the Grand Khan to 
the faith, and gather of the plentiful gold and jewels of 
that land. Little Diego stood by and listened wdth wide- 
open eyes, and the doctor pondered, while the prior gazed 
out from the western window upon the Atlantic, and Co- 
lumbus bent eager eyes and flushed face over his chart. 

2i. " Why, it may be possible ! Send for Martin 
Alonzo Pinzon. He is a seaman ; let us see what he 
thinks ! " 

25. To Palos again goes the messenger, to the rich 
and influential citizen, Alonzo Pinzon, and tells him he is 
wanted at La Rabida. " Ah, Alonzo Pinzon ! " greets 
him the prior, " come and hear what a man proposes to 
do ; and a wise and courageous sailor he seems, though 
poor enough ! " And a third time they bend over the 
charts there in the dark stone convent, and Alonzo Pinzon 
hears of the western route to India ; and Diego gazes from 
one to the other, and hopes in his heart that his father 
will take him along — he wants to see the unicorns. Pin- 
zon catches the idea with enthusiasm, promising to help 
Columbus with money and influence, and to go with him 
if he goes. The doctor, cogitating upon the statements 



128 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

and arguments, concludes that they make quite a reasonable 
showing, and advises Columbus to go on. 

26. The prior says : " Go at once to the court. Tala- 
vera, the queen's confessor, is a good friend of mine, and 
a letter of introduction to him will gain you access to the 
king and queen. They will surely help you." Diego 
clasps his hands. " Will you stay with me, Diego ? " says 
the long-robed prior. " I'd rather go to court," says Di- 
ego. " JS'ay, my son," says Columbus, " if the good prior 
will keep you, I will leave you here while I go on my 
uncertain errand." So the little boy stands in the great 
stone doorway and watches his father out of sight toward 
Cordova. 

2T. At Cordova is nothing but excitement and confu- 
sion. The army is just starting upon a campaign against 
the Moors. Talavera is preoccupied, has his hands full 
of business, and can scarcely give Columbus time enough 
to state his errand. '' Dear me, a new route to the Indies ! 
But don't you see how busy we are with this war ? It is 
probably all nonsense— sounds like it. The court in war- 
time can not waste precious hours over the consideration 
of such wild visions as this." So Columbus takes lodgings 
in Cordova, supports himself by chart-making, talks to 
everybody about the new route to Asia, and waits. Such 
a man with such a story is likely to gain some attention, 
and by and by he begins to have friends. Several of the 
important politicians come to know him, some are con- 
verts to his theory, and finally the grand cardinal himself 
procures him an audience with the king and queen. 

28. Enthusiastically the " one-idea'd man " nnfolds his 
theories to royalty. The land of the Grand Khan, with 
its untold treasure, the salvation of millions of souls in 
the Indies, are the vivid points. The earth is a sphere, 
and a ship may sail straight from Spain to Cipango, urges 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 129 

this man of imagination and faith. The king was not 
slow to perceive the great advantages which success in 
such an enterprise would bring to the government that 
undertook it ; but he must consult the wise men. Tala- 
vera should head a commission composed of the great 
men in the church, great men of science, and professors 
in the universities. Surely no man could ask for more. 
So to Salamanca, seat of the greatest Spanish university, 
Columbus went to convince the commission. 

29. In the hall of the convent there was assembled 
the imposing company — shaved monks in gowns of black 
and gray, fashionably dressed men from the court in jaunty 
hats, cardinals in scarlet robes — all the dignity and learning 
of Spain, gathered and waiting for the man and his idea. 

30. He stands before them with his charts, and ex- 
plains his belief that the world is round, and that Asia 
stretches from the eastern boundary of Europe to a point 
something like four thousand miles from Spain. Hence 
Asia could be reached by sailing due west across the 
Atlantic. They had heard something of this before at 
Cordova, and here at Salamanca, before the commission 
was formally assembled, and they had their arguments 
ready. 

31. You think the earth is round, and inhabited on 
the other side ? Are you not aware that the holy fathers 
of the church have condemned this belief? Say the 
fathers, the Scriptures tell us all men are descended from 
Adam ; but certainly no men descended from Adam live 
in such a region as this you speak of — the antipodes. 
Will you contradict the fathers ? The Holy Scriptures, 
too, tell us expressly that the heavens are spread out like 
a tent, and how can that be true if the earth is not flat 
like the ground the tent stands on ? This theory of yours 
looks heretical. 



130 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

32. Columbus might well quake in his boots at the 
mention of heresy ; for there was that new Inquisition 
just in fine running order, with its elaborate bone-break- 
ing, flesh-pinching, thumb-screwing, hanging, burning, 
manghng system for heretics. What would become of 
the Idea if he should get passed over to that energetic 
institution ? 

33. "I am a true and loyal Catholic," he cries; "I 
wish to convert the Grand Khan's people to our blessed 
faith. I- believe the Bible, and God himself sends me on 
this mission. But these words of the Scriptures are to 
be taken as a figure, not as literal facts of science." " Will 
this sailor teach us how to read the Scriptures ! " growl 
the monks. 

34. '^ Well, for argument, suppose this world is round, 
and you could sail west to the Indies. The voyage would 
take years, and you could not carry food enough to keep 
you from starving." 

35. " But I believe it is only a voyage of four thou- 
sand miles, and can, with favoring winds, be accomphshed 
in a short time," says Columbus, stating his scientific rea- 
sons for this belief. " Will this sailor teach us science ! " 
growl the professors. " Well, all this may be true ; but 
really, can you expect us to believe that there is a land 
beneath us where people walk with their feet up, and 
trees grow down f " Oh, foolish Columbus ! What an 
absurd idea ! " And, besides, if the signor should succeed 
in sailing down around the earth to this peculiar region, 
how does he propose to get back again ? Will his ship 
sail up-hill ? " 

36. Oh, the nudgings and winks among the monks at 
this poser ! And the professors smile triumphantly. 
" And, anyway, who are you, Signor Columbo, to set 
yourself up to know more than all the world beside? 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 131 

Haven't men been sailing in all the seas ever since the 
time of IToah, and, if such a thing as this were possible, 
wpuld not somebody have found it out long ago ? " With 
sound science, reverent religion, enthusiastic imagination 
and faith, he answered them, this unknown sailoj', and 
left them bewildered by his views and impressed by his 
personality. " Perhaps there is truth in the matter," said 
the monks of St. Stephen. They said they would think 
about it, and they did think about it, and it took them 
four years to think about it. Meantime they adjourned 
and went about their own affairs, and Columbus went 
back to court. 

37. The campaign against the Moors began, and from 
that time to the end of those weary years Columbus fol- 
lowed the court from place to place, over the hills and 
valleys of beautiful Andalusia. Sometimes he made 
charts for his support, sometimes he fought in the battles, 
sometimes he talked with the courtiers, or begged audi- 
ence with the king to urge him to a decision ; but always 
was with him that one dream on which he was staking all 
his time and strength — the best years and the fullest 
power of his manhood — hope of his heart, purpose of his 
will, that one Idea possessing him in vivid, unwavering 
faith. 

38. The queen was kind. His enthusiasm and sound 
judgment, his persistent faith in his idea, his dignity and 
strong determination, tempered by the most manly re- 
ligion, made him friends even among his examiners at 
Salamanca ; and so he hoped and waited. Think of it — 
four years of suspense on top of thirteen years of thought 
and study and investigation toward one end ! And when 
at last Talavera assembled the wise men of the commis- 
sion to announce the result of their long deliberation, 
they had come to this wise conclusion : that the whole 



132 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

tiling was foolish and impossible, unworthy of a great 
king's attention. 

39. Better give it up, Cristoforo Colombo, and malje 
charts for a living the rest of your days. No, says 
Colombo, that western ocean must be crossed. He turns 
to the powerful Spanish nobles. They are friendly, but 
hardly dare take up the project. He will go to France 
and present his case. But first to La Rabida to see Diego, 
a tall lad now. " What ! " says the prior, " no success ? 
Too bad, too bad ! But Spain must not give the glory of 
this great undertaking to France. I know the queen, 
and 1 will write to her ; I was her confessor once." 

40. He wrote with such force that he was summoned 
to the queen at once, and his earnest pleading determined 
Isabella to send again for Columbus. But again disap- 
pointment came, for they took offense at Columbus's high 
demands and would not grant them. The Spanish sover- 
eigns were to furnish the largest share of the equij)ment ; 
he should be admiral of the seas, and he and his sons 
after him were to rule, under the king, the countries dis- 
covered, and share in all the profits of the enterprise. 
Bold demands from an adventurer ! Seventeen years of 
waiting might have taught him common sense ; but with 
his absurd faith and uncommon sense he would accept no 
other terms, and turned away again with his Idea and his 
determination. 

41. "Too bad, too bad!" said St. Angel, the tax-col- 
lector; " Zwill plead with the queen. She must not let 
slip this chance of enriching the king — and converting 
the khan. I will myself lend the money necessary, if the 
king can't afford it." Said Isabella to St. Angel: "I 
think as you do. This is a wonderful plan. Let them 
say what they will, by my own right I am queen of Cas- 
tile, as well as queen of Spain, and I pledge the cro^vn of 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 133 

Castile to raise for Cristoforo Columbo a suitable equip- 
ment to sail to the Indies by the west. Let him make his 

own terms." 

42. At last the fretting applications, the repeated ex- 
planations, the harrowing suspense, the long restriction 
are over, and the strong wings of the sea-bird are free to 
bear away over the Atlantic. 

THE VOYAGE. 

43. At Palos, in Southern Spain, three small ships 
were provided. One, the Santa Maria, in which Colum- 
bus was to sail, was fully decked; the other two— the 
Pinta and the Nina— had decks and cabins only at the 
ends. As for crews, to secure them was no easy matter. 
E'ot many sailors cared to trust themselves upon that un- 
known " Sea of Darkness." Not many believed in this 
story of a western route to Asia. 

44. A few, with visions of the Grand Khan's palaces 
and the marvelous sights of the East, would go for ad- 
venture's sake, and risk the mystery between. A few, 
thinking of the " great hills of gold," would risk the dan- 
ger of tumbling into hell midway for the chance of get- 
ting safely across to the land of treasure. Alonzo Pinzon 
was on hand, as he had promised, and was given command 
of the Pinta, while the Nina was put in charge of his 
brother Vincent. Koyal pardon for crimes and offenses 
was offered for any who would undertake this voyage, 
and so some jail-birds were added to the company. Queer 
stuff for such an undertaking ! But beggars can not be 
choosers, and Cristoforo Colombo might be thankful that 
he could get anybody for his fool's errand ! 

45. On August 3, 1492, in the early morning, the 
three ships lay in Palos harbor, and down to Palos harbor 



134 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HIST OB Y. 

flock all tlie town to see them off for Cathaj. Groups of 
trades-people shudder companionably over the vague ter- 
rors of the Atlantic, and chatter over the probabilities of 
the adventurers' return with untold wealth. Excited 
women — bareheaded, likely — gaze again upon the strong, 
controlled face of Columbus, and thank God for this mis- 
sionary to the Grand Khan — only the dark sea will surely 
be his destruction before he gets there ! Children wriggle 
through the throng and stare at the men who are soon to 
find out what becomes of the sun when it sets, and to 
know for themselves whether or no it hisses and makes 
the water boil. The sailors make tlieir way toward the 
ships through a running fire of conversation and hand- 
clasps, culminating at the dock in general good-byes and 
the clinging embraces and sobs of daughters and sweet- 
hearts and wives. The Pinzons are there with their friends. 
Dr. Fernandez is going, too, and the prior of La Rabida, 
in his long robe, is exulting with him over this success. 
Diego, soon to go to court as page to the prince, is there 
to bid his father good-by. 

46. JSTow all are on the docks ready to embark. A 
hundred and twenty men to brave the unknown terrors of 
that sea stretching before them ! The prior steps gravely 
down among them, carrying the sacred host ; kneeling 
before him, Columbus murmurs his last confession and 
receives the communion ; and after him the Pinzons and 
the sailors reverently commune. The people are silent as 
the prior blesses the departing ones, and then the ships 
are manned, the sails spread, and Palos watches until they 
flutter, like white birds, ont of sight — never to return ! 
moan the daughters and the sweethearts and the wives ; 
and the children, with wide dark eyes, whisper of the uni- 
corns and dragons of the East. 

47. Off at last ! Oh, the exhilaration of it ! Admiral 



COLUMBUS AND TEE NEW WORLD. 135 

of three rickety ships and all the unknown seas ; govern- 
or of a hundred disreputable sailors and the reahns of 

Cathay ! 

48. They had not been out three days when the Pin- 
ta's rudder got out of order. That crew of the Pinta had 
been none too willing to start on this rash expedition, and 
Columbus had his suspicions that they put it out of order 
on purpose. Perhaps they did ; anyway, the next day it 
was reported broken again, and Columbus pointed for one 
of the Canary Islands to get it mended. " We are going 
to Cathay by way of the western ocean," they said in re- 
ply to the islanders' questions. " Oh," said the islanders, 
" every year we can see land lying west of us, away oft* 
there. You will find it, though none of us have been 
there." Some weeks of delay that imseaworthy Pinta 
caused; but at last, on September 6th, they were once 
more started. Now, to the west ! And, with their homes 
and the known world behind them, into the west they 

sailed 1 

49. Hardly had the land disappeared when the sailors, 
dismayed at their own boldness, began to be frightened 
enough. The steersmen let the vessels drift around a bit. 
''Steer to the west!'' sternly cried Columbus. There 
was grumbling in the crew, and the admiral showed his 
wit by commencing then and there two records of the dis- 
tance traveled each day. The record for the faithless sail- 
ors' edification showed fewer miles than the reahty, and 
the truth of the matter no one knew but himself, from 
that day until he brought them safe to the other side. 
The fifth day a fragment of a ship drifted by them—" a 
wreck ! " cried the sailors, and grew gloomy over the bad 
omen. One night a "remarkable bolt of fire" fell into 
the sea, and the superstitious men were panic-stricken. 
How could they go on in the face of this message from 



136 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

heaven 1 But go on tliej must. This remarkable admiral 
said calmly: " Steer to the west." 

50. As the days went on " they began to meet large 
patches of weeds, very green." " We must be near to 
land," said the sailors. " Perhaps some island," said the 
admiral ; " but the continent we shall hnd further ahead." 
Another strange thing happened. That little compass, 
their only sure guide to Cathay, began to behave as if it 
too had lost its head over this foolhardy undertaking. 
The neighbors at home had warned them that the devil 
managed the compass ; and this needle, never known to 
point anywhere but north, now pointed w^est of north ! 
Was the devil steering them for hell ? Heaven's fiery 
bolt had warned them ; they had not heeded, and now the 
devil was tampering with the comj)ass. Poor sailors ! 
They looked fiercely on Columbus, and wished themselves 
well out of this business. But the admiral faced the 
strange occurrence quietly, though his heart may well 
have beat fearfully, and proceeded to investigate its cause. 
He soon announced it. " It is the north star that moves," 
he coolly informed the terrified men ; " the needle is al- 
ways true." The admiral was certainly a marvelously wise 
man, and the sailors said no more, 

51. Eleven days out. !N^o thickening of the sea yet, 
except with this mass of floating weed. ]^o darkness, 
except the darkness of night. J^o nearer the sunset, and 
always at sunset-time that golden western path across the 
water. Weeds, weeds — vast stretches of weeds ; they 
must betoken land ; and a live crab discovered among 
them would surely seem to indicate it. The sea is smooth, 
the air clear. It is like " Andalusia in April, all but the 
nightingales," exclaims the admiral. What would you 
give to hear a nightingale just now, brave-hearted admiral, 
gazing into the moonlit infinity of silence that enspheres 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WO ELD. 137 

jou ! You can not bear the crystal tension ; go below to 
the relief of the narrow room and the journal faithfully 
kept ! 

52. More signs of land. They kill tunnies — sure sign, 
say the sailors. And all the signs are from the west, 
" where I hope the high God in whose hand is all victory 
will speedily direct us to land," writes the admiral. Even 
the faithless sailors begin to forget their sullen disap- 
proval, and the three ships race merrily to see which shall 
first discover land. Great flocks of birds Alonzo Pinzon 
saw from the Pinta. " This very night we shall reach 
land, 1 believe ! " he exulted ; and the Pinta swiftly shot 
ahead, expecting to sight the shore at any moment. " There 
must be islands all about us," thought the admiral ; " but 
we will not stay for them now. Straight to the west ! " 

53. Still no land, for all the signs and eager watch- 
ing. Leagues of undulating weeds, but no land ! And 
the faint-hearted sailors grumble again. They fear that 
they never shall "meet in these seas with a fair wind to 
return to Spain." A head-wind heartens them, but it 
quickly flits ofl laden with kisses for Andalusian sweet- 
hearts ; and again the east wind fills the sails and carries 
them away, and away, and away ! 

54. Alonzo Pinzon and Columbus hold a conference, 
and Columbus, spreading out that dear map of the Atlan- 
tic lying between Europe and Asia, traces for the pilots 
the course they have pursued — a bold, straight w^esterly 
line — and shows them that they are now near the islands 
of the Asiatic coast. Inspired delusion ! How did it 
happen that the distance you reckoned to Asia was just 
the distance that landed you on American shores ! 

55. Then, again, all eyes strain to the west, and the 
three little ships in that great circle of water steer swiftly 
on their unknown course to unknown lands. The excited 



138 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

sailors can scarce do their work. " We are nearing land," 
the admiral says. He says it will be perhaps Cipango it- 
self ! " Think of the gold ! and the dragons ! Thou'rt a 
coward. In Cipango the king has his palace roofed and 
floored with gold — I remember the tale — and the pearls 
there are of a beautiful rose- color. If it is not Cipango, 
it will be still some other famous island, if not Cathaj." 

56. " But, bethink you of the monsters of those islands : 
we are like to meet two-headed men, they say, and lions, 
and beasts with men's heads ! " " Ay, but the gold, the 
gold ! " " What will gold be to thee, man, with a canni- 
bal drinking thy blood ? And there is somewhere there 
a valley of devils 1 " " Hist about that, there's no need 
to speak; any land were better than this dreary, endless 
ocean 1 Ay, ay, any land were better than this endless 
ocean ! — I go to look for land. The admiral offers a re- 
ward to the man first discovering it. Ho ! for the west, 
and the golden cities of Cathay ! " 

57. Monsters? devils? The admiral was a man of 
science and not of superstition, but those wild stories may 
well have made the night uncanny for him. Suddenly 
Alonzo Pinzon cried " Land ! " and with praiseworthy 
prudence hastened to claim the reward. The admiral fell 
on his knees and thanl?:ed God. Alonzo Pinzon's crew 
sang the " Gloria " ; the men of the Nina ran up the rig- 
ging, and shouted that the land was truly there. All 
night the excited men talked of nothing but that land, 
and the admiral changed their course to southwest, where 
it appeared to lie. Fast they sailed till morning, till noon, 
till afternoon, and then " discovered that what they had 
taken for land was nothing but clouds ! " Oh, the fearful 
reaction after that tense twenty-four hours ! " There is 
no further shore ! " cried the sailors. " It is as thev said : 
the sea goes on forever, and we are going to death ! " The 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 139 

admiral quietly ordered, " Sail on into the west." They 
could not gainsay him. He willed it, and they sailed on. 

58. Weeds and birds still float and fly about the ships. 
" Fine weather and the sea smooth, many thanks to God," 
says the admiral. Alonzo Pinzon wished to seek the isl- 
ands that might be near them. ^' No," said the admiral, 
'' we shall not change our course." But the signs of land 
again brought reviving spirits and new hope to the men, 
and again the three ships try to outsail one another in the 
race for the first discovery. The Nina suddenly fired a 
salute — signal of land — but the land did not appear. See- 
ing flocks of birds flying southwest, Columbus altered his 
course to that direction, thinking that the birds knew bet- 
ter than he where land lay. 

59. And three days more they sailed, watching eagerly 
the various signs — weeds, pehcans, passing birds — gazing, 
gazing, gazing upon that unbroken boundary line sweep- 
ing around the lonesome watery world ! Only sky and 
sea, sea and sky, with lines of passing birds black across 
the one and the undulating weeds streaking the other — 
three little ships w itli spreading sails under the blue dome, 
that distant, limiting circle, delicately distinct, always curv- 
ing in unbroken perfection. Ah ! the calm craelty of the 
smiUng sea and sky ! 

60. " The admiral encouraged them in the best manner 
he could, representing the profits they were about to ac- 
quire, and adding that it was to no purpose to complain ; 
having come so far, they had nothing to do but con- 
tinue on to the Indies till, with the help of our Lord, they 
should arrive there." It is said, though Columbus does 
not record it, that now the sailors whispered about among 
themselves " that it would be their best plan to throw him 
quietly into the sea, and say he unfortunately fell in while 
he stood absorbed in looking at the stars ! " If they did 



140 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

plot such folly, they had sense enough not to carry it 
out. 

61. So there was, indeed, nothing for it but to sail on. 
The next day brought more floating articles and newly ex- 
cited expectancy. A cane, a log, a carved stick the Pinta 
found. Think of the way that carved stick passed from 
hand to hand ! Carved with an iron tool, said one. ISTay, 
I doubt it. See, they are waving a branch from the 
Mna's deck! Ho, the Pinta! "A stalk loaded with 
roseberries ! " There must be land — or else the devil 
himself puts these signs in our way. Alonzo Pinzon, in 
the swift Pinta, kept ahead. Night came down. At 
ten the admiral, peering into the darkness, saw a light — 
was it one of those phantom lights reported to dance over 
these waters ? A faint, glimmering light ! " Pero Gutier- 
rez, come here. I see a light ! Look that way ! " — '' I see 
it too," said Pero. "Rodrigo Sanchez, come here — a 
light ! " But Podrigo Sanchez does not stand in the right 
place, and sees nothing at all. It was gone a moment. Then 
the admiral saw it moving up and down. " It may be an 
indication of land," admitted Podrigo Sanchez ; but Co- 
lumbus was certain, and his orders were prompt and im- 
perative : a strict watch to be kept upon the forecastle, 
and for him who should first see land a silken jacket and 
the reward promised by the king and queen. 

62. At midnight the Pinta was still ahead. Mnety 
miles they had made since sunset. Look out for land, 
Alonzo Pinzon. Midnight — look sharp. No land. One 
o'clock — look sharp. No land. Two o'clock — what is 
it ? Podrigo de Triana has seen land, land ! Make the 
signals, Alonzo Pinzon. Ho, the Santa Maria — Land! 
Ho, the Nina — Land ! Take in the sails, wait now for 
the dawn — ^first dawn for Europe in the new world. 

63. In the morning — it was Friday, October 12th, 



COLUMBUS AND TEE NEW WORLD. 141 

five weeks since they saw the last of the Canaries — they 
found that the land was a small island with naked people 
on its shore. Here we are at last ! We have accom- 
plished it 1 Think of the exultation ! Land with fitting 
ceremony, and take possession for the king and queen of 
Spain. Drop the small boat from tiie Santa Maria (put 
in your guns, lest the. natives prove cannibals). Get in 
you, and you, and you, of the sailors ; get in, Kodrigo de 
Escovedo, our secretary; you, of course, Eodrigo San- 
chez, since the king sent you on purpose to bear wdtness 
to this occasion. Alonzo Pinzon and Vincent, carry your 
standards of the green cross : and the admiral bears the 
royal standard of our sovereigns. All aboard — put off 
the boat — row for the shore. 

64. The curious natives flock about these strange 
beings, who come in winged ships, and have bodies 
covered wdth something besides skin — handsome natives, 
evidently no cannibals, and very obliging. ISTo lions, or 
hippogriffs, or unicorns. But gold — yes, little pieces of 
it hanging about the savages' necks. They make signs 
that it comes from a land to the south. Cipango, 
thought Columbus, and set sail to find it. They were 
in the group of islands between North and South Amer- 
ica, which we call the Bahamas and the West Indies. 
The first island discovered the natives called Guanahani, 
but Columbus named it San Salvador — '' Holy Saviour." 

65. They sailed about among them, hunting for gold 
and Cipango ; bartering with the astonished natives ; ob- 
serving the land. ]N"ot quite equal to Mandeville's tales 
were the sights they saw, yet the luxuriant, tropical vege- 
tation of the islands, the trees with luscious fruit and 
sweet perfume, the brilliant birds flitting through the 
green foliage, the marvelous fish flashing in the waters, 
the lizards darting across the paths, were wonderful 



142 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

enough in tbeir new beauty to the sea-weary eyes of the 
Europeans. " I saw no cannibals," says Columbus ; but 
he heard of an island full of them. He heard, too, of 
the island of the Amazons, fierce, wild women, who use 
bows and spears, and are less like women than men. 
And there was an island where the inhabitants had no 
hair, and one where the people had tails. Mermaids he 
saw, but, adds the honest admiral, they were '^ not so like 
ladies as they are painted." 

QQ. " Where do you get your gold? " says the admiral 
by signs to the islanders. " Cubauacan," say the natives. 
Kuhla Khan flashes across the admiral's mind, and he 
sails off in renewed certainty. The island which the 
natives called Colba, or Cuba, he took for Cipango, and 
after much searching he came to it at last. When he did 
reach it, its size deceived him into thinking he had 
reached the continent, and messengers were straightway 
dispatched to seek the Grand Khan, with his marble 
bridges and golden towers. Columbus had brought along 
a letter to him from Ferdinand and Isabella, in wliich they 
tell him that, having heard of his love for them, and his 
wish to hear news from Spain, they now send their 
admiral to tell him of their health and prosperity ! But 
the messengers could not find the khan. How could 
you know, Cristoforo Colombo, that you were only half 
way around the great world, and thousands of miles yet 
from Cathay ! 

THE REWARD. 

67. America was discovered. The daring admiral 
never knew it. To the day of his death . he thought the 
world was only half as large as it is, and that he had 
sailed west to Cathay. 

68. America was discovered. Shout, Palos ! Seven 



COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD. 143 

montlis only have passed, and here come the heroes back 
again — back from Cipango and Cathay. Weep for joy, 
daughters and sweethearts and wives ! Little children, 
gaze with fear upon those dark-skinned painted savages, 
and be consoled that they brought no dragons. Barce- 
lona, ring your bells ! The hero, Columbus, is coming in 
state ! Crowd the streets, the doors, the windows, the 
roofs ; king and queen receive him in magnificence. 
Hail to the man who has succeeded ! 

69. Three times afterward Columbus crossed the ocean 
to the new-found Indies, touching once the mainland of 
South America. IS^o need to go into the details of his 
after life. How can one have the heart to tell of the 
quick subsiding of his triumph, the malicious envy of 
courtiers, the unreasonable discontent of subordinates, the 
selfish ambition of rivals, the wanton wickedness of the 
West Indian settlers ; of his removal from the governor- 
ship, and his voyage home in chains, over his Atlantic ; 
of his weakening health, his accumulating anxieties, his 
troubled old age ? The j^eacef iil death that closed it all in 
1506 was relief to the bold spirit which injustice and pain 
could not subdue, but only hamper and fret. From the 
island of Jamaica, three years before his deatli, America's 
discoverer writes to his king and queen : 

70. " For seven years was I at your royal court, where 
every one to whom the enterprise was mentioned treated 
it as ridiculous ; but now there is not a man, down to the 
very tailors, who does not beg to be allowed to become a 
discoverer. ... The lands in this part of the world 
which are now under your highnesses' sway are richer 
and more extensive than those of any other Christian 
power; and yet, after that I had, by the Divine will, 
placed them under your high and royal sovereignty, and 



144 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

was on the point of bringing jour majesties into the re- 
ceipt of a very great and unexpected revenue, ... I was 
arrested and thrown, with my two brothers, loaded with 
irons, into a ship, stripped and very ill treated, without 
being allowed any appeal to justice. ... I was twenty- 
eight years old when I came into your highnesses' service, 
and now I have not a hair upon me that is not gray ; my 
bodv is infirm, and all that was left to me, as well as to 
my brothers, has been taken away and sold, even to the 
frock that I wore, to my great dishonor. ... I implore 
your highnesses to forgive my complaints. I am, indeed, 
in as ruined a condition as I have related ; hitherto I 
have wept over others — may Heaven now have mercy 
upon me, and may the earth weep for me. With regard 
to temporal things, I have not even a blanca for an offer- 
ing, and in spiritual things, I have ceased here in the 
Indies from observing the prescribed forms of religion. 
Solitary in my trouble, sick, and in daily expectation of 
death, surrounded by millions of hostile savages full of 
cruelty, and thus separated from the blessed sacraments 
of our holy chm-ch, how will my soul be forgotten if it 
be separated from the body in this foreign land ! Weep 
for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice ! " 

Ellen Coit Brown, 



CHAPTER VI. 
DEFEASE OF FREEDOM OJV DUTCH DIKES. 

1. After the destruction of the Koman Empire all 
Europe was in a state of anarchy. The long domination 
of Rome, and the general acceptance of the Koman idea 
that ''the state is everjthmg and the individual man 
nothing," had unfitted the people for self-government. 
While Rome fell, the system of Rome, leading to absolute 
monarchy, persisted, and out of it grew the present gov- 
ernments of EurojDe. The conquering Goths brought in 
a modifying condition which changed the whole relations 
of monarch to people. In their social and j^olitical rela- 
tions chieftains of tribes or clans divided power with the 
monarch, and for many centuries there was continuous 
warfare between these antagonistic ideas. This period is 
known as the " dark ages," for while it lasted there was 
little visible progress, and an apparent almost entire for- 
getfulness of the ancient civihzations. 

2. During the dark ages roving bands of freebooters 
wandered about from place to place, engaged in robbery, 
rapine, and murder. To resist this systematic phmder the 
people placed themselves under the guardianship of some 
powerful chieftain in the vicinity, and paid a certain 
amount of their earnings for the privilege of enjoying the 
remainder. Hence there grew up, in the Gothic com- 
munities of Europe, that peculiar state of society known 



146 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

as " the feudal system." A great chieftain or lord lived 
in a strong castle built for defense against neighboring 
lords. A retinue of soldiers was in immediate attend- 
ance, who, when not engaged in war, passed their time in 
hunting and debauchery. All the expenses and waste of 
the castle and its occupants were defrayed by the peas- 
ants who cultivated the lands, and who were all obliged 
to take up arms whenever their lord's dominions were in- 
vaded. 

3. In process of time the taxes upon the people became 
so burdensome that they were reduced to the condition of 
serfs, when all their earnings, except enough to supply 
the barest necessaries of life, were taken from them in the 
shape of taxes and rents. A constantly increasing num- 
ber were yearly taken from the ranks of the industrious 
to swell the numbers of the soldiery, until Europe seemed 
one vast camp. 

4. The feudal system demanded little in the way of 
industry except agriculture and rude home manufactures 
to furnish food and clothing. Arms were purchased from 
other lands, the best being obtained from the higher civil- 
ization of the Moslems ; but, as population increased, peo- 
ple began to congregate in centers and towns, and cities 
sprung up. These called for more varied industries, and 
a class of people soon became numerous who had little or 
no dependence upon the feudal lord. To protect them- 
selves, craftsmen engaged in the same kind of work united 
and formed guilds, and the various guilds, though often 
warring with each other, united for the common defense. 
The leaders of the guilds gradually became the heads of not- 
able burgher families who became influential and wealthy. 
As the cities became powerful the feudal system declined, 
and in many regions the powerful burghers were able to 
maintain their independence, not only against their old 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 147 

lords, but also against the monarch who ruled many lord- 
ships. 

5. Between the monarch and the lords there was a 
natural antagonism — the monarch endeavoring to gain 
power, and the lords endeavoring to retain their privi- 
leges. The burghers made use of these contending forces, 
and by sometimes siding with the one and sometimes with 
the other, they not only secured their own freedom, but 
laid the foundation for the freedom of the people which 
is now generally recognized, and which forms the very 
corner-stone of our republican institutions. 

6. But the rise of the burgher class, and the evolution 
of human liberty through their work, was by no means an 
easy task. As the military spirit was dominant, the call- 
ing of an artisan was considered derogatory, and lords and 
soldiers looked down upon the industrious classes as in- 
ferior beings. Scott well represents this spirit in the 
speech of Rob Boy, the Highland chief, in his reply to 
the offer of Bailie Jar vie to get his sons employment in a 
factory : " Make my sons weavers ! I would see every 
loom in Glasgow, beam, treadle, and shuttles, burnt in 
hell-fire sooner ! " To break the force of the strong mili- 
tary power, and to secure to the industrious classes the 
rights of human beings, required a continuous warfare 
which lasted through many centuries, and which is far 
from being finished at the present time. But, thanks to 
the sturdy valor of the burghers of the middle ages, hu- 
man liberty was maintained and transmitted to succeeding 
generations. 

T Hitherto in the history of the woi'ld mountains had 
been found necessary for the preservation of human lib- 
erty. Thermopylae, Morgarten, Bannockburn, were all 
fought where precipitous hill -sides and narrow valleys 
prevented the champions of freedom from being over- 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 149 

whelmed by numbers, and where a single man in defense 
of bis home conld wield more power than ten men in at- 
tack. The tyrants who lorded it over plains had learned 
by dear experience to shun mountains and avoid collisions 
with mountaineers ; and, in case of controversies, they al- 
ways endeavored to gain by stratagem what they could 
not obtain by force. Austrian tyranny had dashed itself 
in vain against the Alps, and English tyranny had turned 
back southward, thwarted and impotent, from the Scotch 
Highlands. 

8. But it was to be demonstrated that liberty might 
have a home in other than mountain fastnesses. Along 
the JS^orth Sea is a stretch of country redeemed from the 
ocean. Great dikes, faced with granite from Norway, 
withstand the tempest from the turbulent ocean, and 
smaller dikes prevent inundations from rivers. In thou- 
sands of square miles the only land above sea-level is the 
summit of the dikes. In the polders or hollow places be- 
low the sea, and saved from destruction only by the dikes, 
is some of the richest and most productive land in Eu- 
rope. Here prospered a teeming and industrious popula- 
tion. Agriculture, the parent of national prosperity, flour- 
ished as nowhere else. Manufactures and trade had 
followed in its train, until the hollow lands had become 
the beehive of Europe. The direction of the most vast 
commercial enterprises had been transferred from the la- 
goons of Yenice to the cities of the dikes. 

9. This country for centuries had constituted a part 
of the German Empire. At one side of the great lines of 
communication, and moored so far out to sea, it had been 
overlooked and neglected to a certain degree by the reign- 
ing dynasties ; and out of this neglect grew its prosperity. 
While the rule of the central government was nearly nom- 
inal, the feudal lords never obtained a strong foothold in 



150 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the country, and the order and peace of the communities 
were preserved by municipal officers chosen by suffrage. 
In process of time wealthy burgher families fairly divided 
political influence with princes, and dictated a policy at 
once wise and humane. Extortioners were suppressed, 
industries fostered, and j^eace maintained. 

10. In the religious controversies which followed the 
preaching of Luther, the eastern provinces of the hollow 
land almost exclusively espoused the new religion, while 
the western provinces clung as tenaciously to the old. 
While this difference in religious opinions gave rise to 
disputes, and tended toward the disruption of social rela- 
tions, for many years toleration was practiced and peace 
preserved. 

11. During the reign of Charles Y as emperor of 
Germany, the lowland countries were permitted to go on 
in their career of prosperity, with the exception of a re- 
ligious persecution. Charles was a bigot, and, for a time, 
he tried to put down heresy with a strong hand ; but, find- 
ing the new doctrines firmly established in the hearts of 
the people, he relaxed his persecutions, and permitted 
things to take pretty much their own course. 

12. On the abdication of Charles Y, in 1555, Spain 
and the Leon countries fell to the lot of Philip II. I^ot- 
withstanding the riches which had poured into Spain from 
the plunder of Mexico and Peni, the Netherlands were 
the richest part of Philip's dominions, yielding him a 
princely revenue. But the free spirit manifested by these 
artisans, in their homes by the sea, was contrary to all 
Philip's ideas of government, and was constantly galhng 
to his personal pride. So he determined to reduce his 
Teutonic subjects to the same degree of abject submission 
that he had the residents of the sunny lands of Spain. 
To give intensity to his resolve, Philip was a cold-blooded 



r DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 151 

bigot, and in carrying out his state designs he was also 
gratifying his rehgious animosities, and giving expression 
to his almost insane religions hatreds. His policy was di- 
rectly calculated to ruin the most prosperous part of his own 
dominions — to " kill the goose which laid the golden Qgg^ 

13. Philip spent the first five years of his reign in the 
Netherlands, waiting the issue of a war in which he was 
engaged with France. During this period his Flemish 
and Dutch subjects began to have some experience of his 
government. They observed with alarm that the king 
hated the country and distrusted the people. He would 
speak no other language than Spanish ; his counselors 
were Spaniards ; he kept Spaniards alone about his per- 
son, and it was to Spaniards that all vacant posts were as- 
signed. Besides, certain of his measures gave great dis- 
satisfaction. He re-enacted the persecuting edicts against 
the Protestants which his father, in the end of his reign, 
had suffered to fall into disuse ; and the severities which 
ensued began to drive hundreds of the most useful citi- 
zens out of the country, as well as to injure trade by de- 
terring Protestant merchants from the Dutch and Flemish 
ports. Dark hints, too, were thrown out that he intended 
to establish an ecclesiastical court in the ^Netherlands sim- 
ilar to the Spanish Inquisition, and the spirit of Catholics 
as well as Protestants revolted from the thought that tliis 
chamber of horrors should ever become one of the institu- 
tions of their free land. 

14. He had also increased the number of bishops in 
the Netherlands from five to seventeen ; and this was 
regarded as the mere appointment of twelve persons de- 
voted to the Spanish interest, who would help, if neces- 
sary, to overawe the people. Lastly, he kept the provinces 
full of Spanish troops, and this was in direct violation of 
a fundamental law of the country. 



152 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

15. Against these measures tlie nobles and citizens 
complained bitterly, and from them drew sad anticipa- 
tions of the future, ^or were they more satisfied with 
the address in which, through the bishop of Arras as his 
spokesman, he took farewell of them at a convention of 
the states held at Ghent previous to his departure to 
Spain. The oration recommended severity against her- 
esy, and only promised the withdrawal of the foreign 
troops. The reply of the states was firm and bold, and 
the recollection of it must have rankled afterward in the 
revengeful mind of Philip. " I would rather be no king 
at all," he said to one of his ministers at the time, " than 
have heretics for my subjects." But suppressing his re- 
sentment in the mean time, he set sail for Spain in 
August, 1559, leaving his half-sister to act as his viceroy 
in the Netherlands. 

16. At this juncture, while the Dutch were threat- 
ened by a complete subjugation of their liberties, a 
champion arose who in the end proved more than a 
match for Philip both in diplomatic fields and in military 
operations. This was William, Prince of Orange, one of 
the highest nobility, but with his whole heart in sym- 
pathy with the people. Inheriting a personality almost 
perfect in physical, mental, and moral vigor and har- 
mony, he early manifested a prudence and wisdom which 
gained for him the entire confidence of the suspicious 
and experienced Charles Y. 

IT. It was on the arm of William of Orange that 
Charles had leaned for support on that memorable day 
when, in the assembly of the states at Brussels, he rose 
feebly from his seat, and declared his abdication of the 
sovereign power ; and it was said that one of Charles's 
last advices to his son Philip was to cultivate the good- 
will of the people of the ^Netherlands, and especially to 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 153 

defer to the counsels of the Prince of Orange. When, 
therefore, in the year 1555, Philip began his rale in the 
E'etherlands, there were few persons who were either 
better entitled or more truly disposed to act the part of 
faithful and loyal advisers than William of JN'assau, then 
twenty-two years of age. 

18. But, close as had been William's relations to the 
late emperor, there were stronger principles and feelings 
in his mind than gratitude to the son of the monarch 
whom he had loved. He had thought deeply on the 
question, how a nation should be governed, and had come 
to entertain opinions very hostile to arbitrary power ; he 
had observed what appeared to him, as a Catholic, gross 
blunders in the mode of treating religious differences ; he 
had imbibed deeply the Dutch spirit of independence ; 
and it was the most earnest wish of his heart to see the 
^Netherlands prosperous and happy. Nor was he at all a 
visionary, or a man whose activity would be officious and 
troublesome; he was eminently a practical man, one 
who had a strong sense of what is expedient in existing 
circumstances ; and his manner was so grave and quiet 
that he obtained the name of "William the Silent." 
Still, many things occurred during Philip's four years' 
residence in the IS'etherlands to make him speak out and 
remonstrate. He was one of those who tried to get the 
king to use gentler and more popular measures, and the 
consequence was that a decided aversion grew up in the 
dark and haughty mind of Philip to the Prince of Orange. 

19. After the departure of Philip the administration 
of the Duchess of Parma produced violent discontent. 
The persecutions of the Protestants were becoming so 
fierce that, over and above the suffering inflicted on 
individuals, the commerce of the country was sensibly 
falling off. The establishment of a court like the Inqui- 



154 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

sition was still in contemplation ; Spaniards were still ap- 
pointed to places of trust in preference to Flemings ; and 
finally, the Spanish soldiers, who ought to have been re- 
moved long ago, were still burdening the country with 
their presence. The woes of the people were becoming 
intolerable ; occasionally there were slight outbreaks of 
violence; and a low murmur of vehement feeling ran 
througli the whole population, foreboding a general erup- 
tion. " Our poor fatherland ! " they said to each other ; 
" God has afflicted us with two enemies, water and Span- 
iards; we have built dikes and overcome the one, but 
how shall we get rid of the other? Why, if nothing 
better occurs, we know one way at least, and we shall 
keep it in reserve — we can set the two enemies against 
each other. We can break down the dikes, inundate the 
country, and let the water and the Spaniards fight it out 
between them." 

20. About this time, too, the decrees of the famous 
Council of Trent, which had been convened in 1545 to 
take into consideration the state of the Church and the 
means of checking the new religion, and which had 
closed its sittings in the end of 1563, were made public ; 
and Philip, the most zealous Catholic of his time, issued 
immediate orders for their being enforced both in Spain 
and in the Netherlands. In Spain the decrees were re- 
ceived as a matter of course, the council having authority 
over the Cathohc people ; but the attempt to force the 
mandates of an ecclesiastical body upon a people who 
neither acknowledged its authority nor believed in its 
truth, was justly regarded as an outrage, and the whole 
country burst out in a storm of indignation. In many 
places the decrees were not executed at all ; and wher- 
ever the authorities did attempt to execute them, the peo- 
ple rose and compelled them to desist. 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 155 

21. A political club or confederacy was organized 
among the nobility for the express purpose of resisting 
the establishment of the Inquisition. They bound them- 
selves by a solemn oath " to oppose the introduction of 
the Inquisition, whether it were attempted openly or 
secretly, or by whatever name it should be called," and 
also to protect and defend each other from all the conse- 
quences which might result from their having formed 
this league. 

22. Perplexed and alarmed, the regent implored the 
Prince of Orange and his two associates, Counts Egmont 
and Horn, to return to the council and give her their ad- 
vice. They did so ; and a speech of the Prince of 
Orange, in which he asserted strongly the utter folly of 
attempting to suppress opinion by force, and argued that 
" such is the nature of heresy that if it rests it rusts, but 
whoever rubs it whets it," had the effect of inclining the 
regent to mitigate the ferocity of her former edicts. 
Meanwhile the confederates were becoming bolder and 
more numerous. Assembling in great numbers at Brus- 
sels, they walked in procession through the streets to the 
palace of the regent, where they were admitted to an 
interview. In reply to their petition, she said she was 
willing to send one or more persons to Spain to lay the 
complaint before the king. 

23. While the nobles and influential persons were 
thus preparing to co-operate, in case of a collision with 
the Spanish government, a sudden and disastrous move- 
ment occurred among the lower classes. It was stated 
and believed that the regent had given permission for the 
exercise of the Protestant form of worship, and through- 
out Flanders multitudes poured into the fields after the 
preachers. The reaction after the suppression of the 
previous years was very great, and the pent-up emotions 



156 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

were easily kindled into rage against the Catholics. Led 
on by fanatics, the ignorant masses made a concerted at- 
tack upon the Catholic churches, shattering their win- 
dows, tearing up their pavements, and destroying all the 
objects of art which they contained. The cathedral at 
Antwerp was the special object of attack, and it was re- 
duced to an almost hopeless ruin. The patriot nobles ex- 
erted their influence, and at last succeeded in sujopressing 
the violence and in restoring order. 

24. Before the news of this outburst had reached 
Spain, Philip had resolved to crush the confederacy and 
break the proud spirit of the JSTetherlands. Secret orders 
were given for the collection of troops ; the regent was 
instructed to amuse the patriots until the means of pun- 
ishing them were ready ; and in a short time it was hoped 
that there would no longer be a patriot or a heretic in 
the Low Countries. It is easy to conceive with what 
rage and bitterness of heart Philip, while indulging these 
dreams, must have received intelligence of the terrible 
doings of the iconoclasts. But, as cautious and dissimu- 
lating as he was obstinate and revengeful, he concealed 
his intentions in the mean time, announced them to the 
regent only in secret letters and dispatches, and held out 
hopes in public to the patriots and people of the Nether- 
lands that he was soon to pay them a visit in person to 
inquire into the condition of affairs. 

25. William had secret intelligence of the purpose of 
Philip in time to avert its worst consequences. The man 
whom Philip sent into the Netherlands at the head of 
the army, as a fit instrument of his purpose of vengeance, 
was the Duke of Alva, a personage who united the most 
consummate military skill with the disposition of a ruf- 
fian, ready to undertake any enterprise however base. 
Such was the man who, at the age of sixty, in the month 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 157 

of Augiistj 1567, made liis entry into the Netherlands at 
the head of an army of fifteen thousand men. One of his 
hrst acts was the arrest of the Counts Egmont and Horn. 
The regent resigned, and Alva was left in supreme con- 
trol. JSTow ensued the grand struggle in the Netherlands. 
On the one hand was a nation of quiet, orderly people, 
industrious in a high degree, prosperous in their com- 
merce, and disposed to remain peaceful subjects to a for- 
eign monarch; on the other hand was a sovereign who, 
unthankful for the blessing of reigning over such a happy 
and well-disposed nation, and stimulated by passion and 
bigotry, resolved on compelling all to submit to his will 
on penalty of death. 

26. Alva at once commenced his persecutions. Sup- 
ported by his army, blood was shed like water. The In- 
quisition was established, and began its work of unspeak- 
able horrors in the Netherlands. Patriots and Protestants 
in crowds left the country. The leading men of the 
Netherlands were arrested and executed. Under circum- 
stances of extreme ferocity Counts Egmont and Horn 
were beheaded at Brussels. Overwhelming taxes were 
imposed upon the people, and during the short period of 
his administration Alva executed eighteen thousand patri- 
ots, including many Catholics ; for, in his rage against the 
free spirit of the Netherlanders, he recognized no distinc- 
tion in condition or in religious belief. 

27. In the mean time the Prince of Orange was active 
in devising means to liberate his unfortunate country from 
the terrible scourge to which it was subjected. For five 
years he battled incessantly against the Spanish power. 
Now he entered into combination with the English and 
now with the French, with the vain hope of obtaining a 
sufficient force to drive the Spaniards out of the country. 
Twice he raised an army and marched to the aid of the 



158 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

brave burghers, who still maintained their independence, 
and both times was defeated by the superior force and 
generalship of Alva. He organized a fleet which ravaged 
the coast, captured vessels laden with provisions for Alva's 
army, and defended the ports within reach of their guns. 
When the shattered remains of William's last army re- 
treated across the German frontier, it seemed that the 
people of the ^Netherlands were about to be left to their' 
fate. 

28. But sixty cities and towns were now in revolt, 
and, unless they were recovered, Philip could no longer 
be considered the king of the ISTetherlands. Nothing was 
left but the slow process of siege operations. Haarlem 
held out seven months, and cost the Spaniards ten thou- 
sand men. It surrendered at last under the promise of an 
amnesty to its defenders, when they were murdered by 
thousands in cold blood. But Philip was dissatisfied with 
Alva for his slow progress, and for his execution of Catho- 
lics as well as Protestants ; and in 1753, after five years' 
rule, he recalled him, and, with characteristic ingratitude, 
neglected and ill-treated him for his faithful but bloody 
services. 

29. Don Luis Requesens succeeded the Duhe of Alva 
as governor of the Netherlands and as commander of the 
Spanish army. While a zealous Catholic, he seems to 
have been a much more humane and just man than Alva. 
He began his administration by abolishing the most ob- 
noxious measures of his predecessor, thus changing the 
whole tone of the government. Had he been left to fol- 
low his own counsels in everything, he doubtless would 
have come to an understanding with the Prince of Orange, 
and established peace upon a permanent basis. But the 
king was obstinately determined to capture the revolted 
cities and punish his rebel subjects, and the general was 



p DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 159 

obliged to continue the war. At this time WiUiam was 
besieging Middlebiirg, on the island of Zealand, and one 
of the first acts of the newly-appointed governor was to 
raise the siege. To this end he caused a large fleet to be 
assembled, and nnder the command of two experienced 
admirals he sent it down the Scheldt to the relief of Mid- 
dleburg. The Prince of Orange immediately hastened to 
the critical spot, and gave direction to patriot operations. 
The Holland ships were collected, and a great naval bat- 
tle took place on January 29, 1574. Although their force 
was much the greater, the Spaniards had little chance upon 
the water in a contest with the half-amphibious inhab- 
itants of the Low Countries. The smaller vessels of the 
Prince of Orange fell upon the Spanish fleet with a ferocity 
which they could not withstand, and the result was a 
complete victory, with the destruction of their principal 
vessels. Middleburg soon after surrendered to the patriots, 
and the sway of William over the maritime provinces was 
rendered complete. 

30. In April an army from Germany, raised through 
the influence of the Prince of Orange, and commanded 
by his brother. Count Henry of Nassau, marched into 
the Low Countries ; but the Spaniards dominated the land 
as the Dutch the sea, and the relief army was defeated and 
Count Henry was killed. This defeat, however, to the 
patriot cause, was almost equal to a victory. The Spanish 
troops, who had long been without pay, became mutinous 
and unmanageable, and before they could be appeased 
much precious time was lost. The Prince of Orange 
made the best use of this time. The revolted cities were 
strengthened and supplied with provisions, and every prep- 
aration made for both defensive and offensive war. But, 
best of all, the Dutch admiral boldly sailed up the Scheldt, 
captured forty of the Spanish vessels, and sunk many more. 



160 TEN' GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

31. At length the Spanish general was once more 
ready to continue his aggressive movements, and -he pro- 
ceeded to lay siege to the populous city of Leyden. The 
story of this siege is one of the most spirit-stirring in the 
annals of heroism. Leyden stands in a low situation, in 
the midst of a labyrinth of rivulets and canals. That 
branch of the Rhine which still retains the name of its 
upper course passes through the middle of it, and from 
this stream such an infinity of canals are derived that it is 
difficult to say whether the water or the land possesses 
the greater space. By these canals the ground on which 
the city stands is divided into a great number of small 
islands, united together by bridges. 

32. For five months all other operations were sus- 
pended ; all the energy of Requesens, on the one hand, 
was directed toward getting possession of the city, and all 
the energy of the Prince of Orange, on the other hand, 
toward assisting the citizens, and preventing it from being 
taken. The issue depended entirely, however, on the 
bravery and resolution of the citizens of Leyden them- 
selves. Pent up within their walls, they had to resist the 
attacks and stratagems of the besiegers ; and all that the 
Prince of Orange could do was to occupy the surrounding 
country, harass the besiegers as much as possible, and en- 
able the citizens to hold out, by conveying to them sup- 
plies of provisions and men. 

33. There was not in the city a single scion of a noble 
family. There were no men trained to military opera- 
tions. It was a city of artisans and tradesmen, and the 
Spaniards expected scarcely more than a show of resist- 
ance from a foe so ignoble. As well mi^^ht the sheep re- 
sist a pack of ravening wolves as the men of the counting- 
house and workshop resist the best trained soldiers of 
Europe. But nobly, nay, up to the highest heroic pitch 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 161 

of human nature, did the citizens behave 1 They had to 
endure a siege in its most dreary form — that of a block- 
ade. Instead of attempting to storm the town, Yaldez, 
the Spanish general, resolved to reduce it by the slow 
process of starvation. For this purpose he completely sur- 
rounded the town by a circle of forts more than sixty in 
number ; and the inhabitants thus saw themselves walled 
completely in from the rest of the earth, with its growing 
crops and its well-filled granaries, and restricted entirely 
to whatever quantity of provisions there happened to be 
on the small spot of ground on which they walked up and 
down. Their only means of communication with the 
Prince of Orange was by carrier-pigeons trained for the 
purpose. 

34. One attempt was made by them to break through 
the line of blockade, for the sake of keeping possession of 
a piece of pasture-ground for their cattle ; but it was un- 
successful ; and they began now to work day and night in 
repairing their fortifications, so as to resist the Spanish 
batteries when they should begin to play. Like fire pent 
up, the patriotism of the inhabitants burned more fiercely 
and brightly ; every man became a hero, every woman an 
orator, and words of flashing genius were spoken and 
deeds of wild bravery done, such as would have been im- 
possible except among twenty thousand human beings 
living in the same city, and all roused at once to the same 
unnatural pitch of emotion. 

35. The two leading spirits were John van der Dors, 
the commander, better known by his Latinized name of 
Dousa ; and Peter van der Werf , the burgomaster. Ple- 
beian names these, but loftier natures never possessed the 
hearts of kings or nobles ! Beside their deeds, the chivalry 
of knighthood looks trivial and mean. ■ Under the manage- 
ment of these two men every precaution was adopted for 



162 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

the defense of the city. The resokition come to was, that 
the last man among them shonld die of want rather than 
admit the Spaniards into the town. Coolly, and with a 
foresight thoronghly Dutch, Dousa and Yan der Werf set 
about making an inventory of all that was eatable in the 
town : corn, cattle — nay, even horses and dogs ; calculat- 
ing how long the stock could last at the rate of so much 
a day to every man and woman in the city ; adopting 
means to get the whole placed under the management of 
a dispensing committee ; and deciding what should be the 
allowance per head at first, so as to prevent their stock 
from being eaten up too fast. 

36. It was impossible, however, to collect all the food 
into one fund, or to regulate its consumption by munici- 
pal arrangements ; and, after two months had elapsed, 
famine had commenced in earnest, and those devices for 
mitigating the gnawings of hunger began to be employed 
w^hich none but starving men would think of. I^ot only 
the ilesh of dogs and horses, but roots, weeds, nettles — 
everything green that the eye could detect shooting up 
from the earth — was ravenously eaten. IMany died of 
want, and thousands fell ill. Still they held out, and 
indignantly rejected the offers made to them by the be- 
siegers. • 

37. "When we have nothing else," said Dousa, in re- 
ply to a message from Yaldez, '' we will eat our left hands, 
keeping the right to fight mth." Once, indeed, hunger 
seemed to overcome patriotism, and for some days crowds 
of gaunt and famished wretches moved along the streets, 
crying : " Let the Spaniards in ; for God's sake let them 
in ! " Assembling with hoarse clamor at the house of 
Yan der Werf, they demanded that he should give them 
food or surrender. '' I have no food to give you," was 
the burgomaster's reply, " and I have sworn that I will 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 163 

not surrender to the Spaniards ; but, if my body will be 
of any service to you, tear me in pieces, and let the hun- 
griest of you eat me." The poor wretches went away, 
and thought no more of surrendering. 

38. The thought of the Prince of Orange night and 
day was how to render assistance to the citizens of Ley- 
den — how to convey provisions into the town. He had 
collected a large supply, but, with all his exertions, could 
not raise a sufficient force to break through the blockade. 
In this desperate extremity the Dutch resolved to have 
recourse to that expedient which they had kept in reserve 
until it should be clear that no other was left — they would 
break their dikes, open their sluices, inundate the whole 
level country around Ley den, and wash the Spaniards and 
their forts utterly away ! 

39. It was truly a desperate measure, and it was only 
in the last extremity that they could bring themselves to 
think of it. All that fertile land, which the labor of ages 
had drained and cultivated— to see it converted into a sheet 
of water ! There could not possibly be a sight more un- 
seemly and melancholy to a Dutchman's eyes. But, when 
the measure was once resolved upon, they set to work 
with a heartiness and zeal greater than that which had 
attended tlieir building. Hatchets, hammers, spades, and 
pickaxes were in requisition ; and by the labor of a single 
night the work of ages was demolished and undone. The 
water, availing itself of the new inlets, poured over the 
flat country, and in a short time the whole of the region 
between Ley den and Kotterdam was flooded. 

40. The Spaniards, terror-stricken, at first resolved 
upon immediate flight ; but, seeing that the water did not 
rise above a certain level, they recovered their courage, 
and, though obliged to abandon their forts, which were 
stationed upon the low grounds, they persevered in the 



164 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

blockade. But there was anotlier purpose to be served 
bj the inundation of the country beside that of washing 
away the Spaniards, and the Prince of Orange made prep- 
arations for effecting it. He had caused two hundred 
flat-bottomed boats to be built, and loaded with provisions ; 
these now began to row toward the famished city. The 
inhabitants saw them coming ; they watched them eagerly 
advancing across tlie waters, fighting their way past the 
Spanish forts, and bringing bread to them. But it seemed 
as if Heaven itseK had become cruel ; for a north wind 
was blowing, and, so long as it continued to blow, the 
waters would not be deep enough for the boats to reach 
the city. They waited for days, every eye fixed on the 
vanes ; but still the wind continued in the north, though 
never within the memory of the oldest citizen had it blown 
in that direction so long at that time of year. Many died 
in sight of the vessels that contained the food which would 
have kept them alive ; and those who survived shufiied 
along the streets, living skeletons instead of men ! 

41. But the sea did not at last desert the brave men 
who had so long dominated it. At the last extremity it 
roused itseK and swept down in its might upon the 
doomed Spaniards. When but two days stood between 
the starving citizens and death, lo ! the vanes trembled 
and veered round ; the wind shifted first to the north- 
west, blowing the sea-tides with hurricane force into the 
mouth of the rivers, and then to the south, driving the 
waters directly toward the city. The remaining forts of 
the Spaniards were quickly begirt with water. The 
Spaniards themselves, pursued by the Zealanders in their 
boats, were either drowned or shot swimming, or fished 
out with hooks fastened to the end of poles, and killed 
with the sword. Several bodies of them, however, ef- 
fected their escape. The citizens had all crowded at the 



DEFENSE OF FREEDOM ON DUTCH DIKES. 165 

gates to meet their deliverers. With bread in their 
hands they ran through the streets ; and many who had 
outhved the famine died of surfeit. The same day they 
met in one of the churches — a lean and sickly congrega- 
tion — with the magistrates at their head, to return thanks 
to Almighty God for his mercy. 

42. The citizens of Ley den had performed their duty 
nobly and well. It was a triple service — they had driven 
away from their city the hated Spaniard ; they had se- 
cured the freedom of their country ; and they had pre- 
served liberty for mankind. Ko nobler deeds are chroni- 
cled in all history than this long battle with death, than 
this silent, uncomplaining endurance during the long 
weeks, while the life-giving succors were delayed by 
adverse winds. As a recompense to the people of Ley- 
den for their heroic conduct, the Prince of Orange gave 
them the choice of exemption from taxes for a certain 
number of years, or of having a university established in 
the city ; and, much to their honor, they preferred the 
latter. The University of Leyden was accordingly es- 
tablished in 1575. At one time it attained so high a 
reputation for learning that Leyden was styled the 
Athens of the West. 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE JKYIKCIBLE AEMADJ. 

1. In 1588 tlie " Invincible Armada " sailed from 
Spain into the high seas. To understand the nature of 
this formidable naval armament and the reasons for its 
sailino^, we must take a brief survev of the condition of 
Europe at this period of the world's history. 

SPAIN BEFORE THE ARMADA 

2. At this time Spain was the most powerful of the 
monarchies of Europe. Many causes had conspired to 
give her this pre-eminence. About one hundred years 
before, the two principal provinces, Castile and Aragon, 
were united by the marriage of their sovereigns, Isabella 
and Ferdinand. In 1492 the Moors w^ere subjugated, 
uniting the whole peninsula under one government. In 
the same year, under the auspices of the Spanish sover- 
eigns, Columbus discovered the New World, giving addi- 
tional luster to the Spanish name and a new impulse to 
Spanish adventure. 

3. Thirty years later, Mexico and Peru had been over- 
run and plundered by Cortes and Pizarro, and the treas- 
ures of millions of people, accumulated through many 
centuries, became a possession of the Spanish people ; 
raising them to a degree of opulence unknown since the 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 167 

time of the most illustrious of the Koman emperors. In 
consequence of this wealth, commerce expanded, large 
cities grew up along the courses of the navigable rivers, 
and all branches of industry Avere aroused to a state of 
great activity. 

4. In 1516 Spain and Austria were united under the 
Emperor Charles Y, grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella ; 
and, during his reign, the united kingdoms arose to a 
height of power almost equal to that of the empire of 
Charlemagne. The dominion of Charles extended from 
the Atlantic to the steppes of Poland, and from the Medi- 
terranean to the Baltic. It included all of Western Con- 
tinental Europe, except France and Southern Italy. In 
1556 Charles abdicated his throne, and divided his em- 
pire, giving Austria and Germany to his brother Ferdi- 
nand, and Spain and the Low Countries of Holland and 
Belgium to his son Philip 11. 

5. Spain was now rich and powerful. Her armies 
were large, and were commanded by the most experienced 
military officers of Europe. Material progress showed it- 
self on every side. The richest commerce of the world 
poured its wealth into her ports. A new intellectual life 
was aroused, which found expression in literature and 
schools. All the conditions seemed to indicate that the 
Spanish people were about to lead Europe in the direc- 
tion of a higher civilization. 

CHARACTER AND POLICY OF PHILIP II 

6. But soon all this changed. Philip was vain, bigot- 
ed, and ambitious. In his administration of public affairs 
he seemed to have but two objects in view, to augment 
Spanish power, and to cause his own rehgious creed to be 
universally accepted. To promote these objects be had 

8 



168 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

no scruples in regard to means. His own people were 
tortured and executed by the thousand. By this savage 
policy he stamped out heresy, placed freedom of thought 
under a ban, and put an end to the intellectual progress 
of the country. In his dealings with other nations his 
diplomacy included all the arts of chicanery and deceit. 

7. Two formidable obstacles stood in the way of the 
realization of his plans. Heretical England had become 
a strong naval power, and English ships captured his 
treasure-vessels laden with the spoils of the countries he 
had plundered. The eagles of the sea despoiled the 
wolves of the main of their ill-got gains. The second 
trouble wafe nearer home. The people of the Low Coun- 
tries revolted alike from his government and his creed. 
To remove these obstacles was the hrst step toward the 
attainment of his larger ambitions. 

8. In regard to England, Philip ventured upon a mas- 
ter-stroke of policy. He sought the hand of Mary, the 
newly crowned Queen of England, and married her. By 
this step he hoped and expected to extinguish dissent in 
England as he had done in his own dominions, to gradu- 
ally usurp the government, and to make English naval 
supremacy subserve the interests of Spain. 

9. But Philip was sorely disappointed. Mary, though 
narrow and bigoted, and at one with him in creed, had 
still English blood in her ; and English independence had 
been sturdily maintained through too many centuries to 
be surrendered to any power or on any pretext. The 
English Parliament also interfered and refused to crown 
him jointly with Mary. So Philip found himself united 
to a sickly, peevish wife of twice his age, and entirely 
powerless to effect the purposes he had in view. 

10. Three or four years passed in fruitless intrigue. 
Punishments for heresy were frequent, but the fires of 



THE INVINCIBLE ABMADA. 169 

persecution never blazed so fiercely in tlie cooler atmos- 
phere of England as in Spain, and the victims of the 
stake could be counted singly instead of by the thousand. 
Then Mary died, and Elizabeth ascended the throne of 
England. The new queen declined the honor of Philip's 
hand which was tendered her, and she zealously espoused 
the cause of the English church. The hunted turned 
hunters, and the last fires of English persecution were lit 
by those whom the stake had thi-eatened all through the 
dreary years of Mary's reign. This change of front and 
the gradual amelioration of penalties which followed 
show that persecutions are not the monopoly of any sect, 
but are rather the manifestations of an irresponsible power 
in a semi-barbarous age. 

11. Philip retired angry and disgusted. The con- 
temptuous refusal of his hand by Elizabeth was a terrible 
shock to his personal pride ; the triumph of the new 
church inflamed his bigotry ; and the sturdy independence 
of the English people was a severe blow to his pride of 
country. He brooded over the situation and determined 
to resent the slights — personal and public — which had 
been put upon him. 

12. From his purpose he was for a time diverted by 
the attitude of his rebellious subjects in Belgium. Mad- 
dened to ferocity by the failure of his plans, he devoted 
the whole people to destruction, and he sent his best- 
equipped armies, under the terrible Duke of Alva, to 
devastate the cities of the dikes as Pizarro had destroyed 
the homes of the Incas. After innumerable atrocities, 
and the wholesale slaughter of men, women, and children, 
the remnant of freedom was preserved by the obstinacy 
of the Dutch burghers, the wise policy of William the 
Silent, the aid of the sea, and the succor furnished by 
Elizabeth. 



TEE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. ITl 

13. Here, again, was practical defeat. His cherished 
purposes were thwarted, and the high hope of his life was 
gone. Nothing was left but despair and revenge. At 
this time Philip began to exhibit in a marked degree the 
madness which overshadowed the last years of his life. 
His hatred of England grew from day to day, and at last 
took shape in a determination to make one supreme effort 
to conquer his rival, and to check the rising free thought 
of the English people. For years the preparations went 
on for the great conflict, and in 1588, twenty years 
after the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, everything 
was ready. 

ENGLAND'S POWER TO RESIST THE ARMADA. 

14. And what of England and of her ability to resist 
this formidable attack ? For a hundred years before the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, the civil wars of the 
Koses had desolated the country and put an end to national 
growth. For the next fifty years, and until the commence- 
ment of the reign of Elizabeth, violence and bloodshed 
were so common that the population barely maintained 
its own. In 1588 the whole number of people in Eng- 
land and Wales was estimated at four millions, about one 
third of the population of Spain. 

15. But England possessed two elements of strength — 
her people, although differing in creed and often war- 
ring with one another, were intensely patriotic, and were 
united as one man against a foreign foe ; and the ships of 
England, manned by English crews and commanded by 
her great captains — the legitimate successors of the old 
Vikings — dominated the seas. No enterprise was too 
hazardous for these hardy mariners to undertake, and no 
disparity of force ever induced them to pause. Philip 



172 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

was often wrought to frenzy as he saw these bold cor- 
sairs capture his treasure-ships and ravage his coasts in 
sight of his invincible but impotent armies. 

16. The mode of attack which Philip determined upon 
consisted of two distinct but co-operative movements. A 
formidable army of invasion, under the Duke of Parma, 
the most experienced and skillful commander in Europe, 
was stationed at the several ports of the Low Countries, 
opposite the British coast, from Dunkirk east. Innumer- 
able transports were provided to convey this host across 
the Channel, and, once on English ground, an easy and 
triumphant march to London was expected. The second 
part of the grand expedition consisted of an immense 
fleet of the largest vessels ever built, under the command 
of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, which was to drive away 
the English ships and convoy the army of Parma to the 
English shore. This fleet was christened by the Spaniards' 
" The Invincible Armada." 

17. " Philip hastened his preparations with all the en- 
ergy he could command. In every port resounded the 
axe and hammer of the ship-builder; in every arsenal 
blazed the flames of busy forges. All Spanish Europe 
echoed with the din of arms. Provisions were amassed 
in a thousand granaries ; soldiers were daily mustered on 
the parade-grounds, drilled, and accustomed to the use of 
arquebus and cannon. Carts and wagons were built in 
hundreds for the conveyance of stores ; spades, mattocks, 
and baskets were got ready for the pioneers ; iron and 
brass ordnance were cast, and leaden shot melted in enor- 
mous quantities ; nor were the instruments of torture — 
the thumb-screw and the 'jailer's daughter' — forgotten." 

18. In 1587 the preparations were nearly completed, 
and the Armada was about ready to sail, when a knowl- 
edge of its destination became known to Sir Francis 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 173 

Drake, the great English commander. Without consid- 
ering the disparity of force, the old sea-king, with a fleet 
of swift-sailing vessels, made a sudden descent upon the 
port of Cadiz, where the ships of the Armada were at 
anchor. Many of the larger vessels escaped by taking 
refuge under the guns of the forts, but the city was lit up 
by the blaze of one hundred and fifty burning ships, and 
the great enterprise was delayed for another year. 

SAILING OF THE ARMADA. 

19. But this disaster only called forth greater exer- 
tions. The maimed vessels were repaired, new ones were 
built, and at length one hundred and thirty-two ships, 
many of them the largest ever known at the time, were 
ready to sail. They carried three thousand guns and 
thirty thousand men. On May 3d the Armada sailed 
from the mouth of the Tagus, but a great gale dispersed 
the ships, and obliged them to put back into port to re- 
pair. Surely God did not smile upon the beginning of a 
warfare carried on in his name ! It was not until July 
12th that the fleet finally sailed from .Corunna on its mis- 
sion of destruction, and to meet its fate. 

20. To cope with this formidable force, the whole 
British navy could muster only thirty-six vessels, all much 
smaller than the largest of the Spanish ships. But, in con- 
sideration of the great danger, merchants and private gen- 
tlemen fitted out vessels at their own expense, and by mid- 
summer a fleet of one hundred and ninety-seven ships 
was placed at the disposal of the British admiral. In 
tonnage, number of guns, and number of men, the strength 
of the whole fleet was about one half that of the Armada. 

21. But all England was aroused. For more than five 
centuries this was the first foreign invasion that had threat- 



174 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

ened her shores. The years of preparation had given 
time for the avowed purposes of Phihp to become known 
throughout the kingdom. There was anxiety everywhere, 
for no one knew where and when the blow was to be 
struck ; but there was no thought of submission, and all 
England stood alert, eagerly watching and waiting. Much 
to Philip's disappointment and chagrin, the great Catho- 
lic families of England rallied to their country's defense 
as readily as their Protestant neighbors, and all English- 
men stood shoulder to shoulder in this supreme moment 
of the nation's peril. Vessels patrolled the shores, to give 
notice of the coming ships ; soldiers drilled in every ham- 
let ; and on the hill-tops piles of fagots were placed so that 
signal-hres might speedily send the news to the remotest 
parts of the kingdom. 

WAITING FOR THE. ARMADA. 

22. Canon Kingsley has given a graphic picture of 
England's great naval commanders, when the news was 

• received that the Armada was off the coast. He supposes 
them assembled at Plymouth on the 19th of July, engaged 
in the then favorite game of bowls. 

23. "Those soft, long eyes and pointed chin you 
recognize already. They are Sir Walter Raleigh's. The 
fair young man in the flame-colored suit at his side 
is Lord Sheffield ; opposite them stand Lord Sheffield's 
uncle, Sir Richard Grenville, and the stately Lord Charles 
Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England ; 
next to him is his son-in-law. Sir Robert Southwell, cap- 
tain in her Majesty's service. 

24. " But who is that short, sturdy, plainly dressed 
man, who stands with legs a little apart, and hands behind 
his back, looking up with keen gray eyes into the face of 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 175 

eacli speaker ? His cap is in his hand, so you can see the 
bullet-head of crisp brown hair and the wrinkled forehead 
as well as the high cheek-bones, the short square face, the 
broad temples, the thick lips, which are jet as firm as 
granite. A coarse, plebeian stump of a man ; yet the 
whole figure and attitude are those of boundless determin- 
ation, self-possession, energy; and, when at last he speake 
a few blunt words, all eyes are turned respectfully on him, 
for his name is Francis Drake. 

25. "A burly, grizzled elder, in greasy, sea-stained gar- 
ments, contrasting oddly with the huge gold chain about 
his neck, waddles up, as if he had been born, and had 
hved ever since, in a gale of wind at sea. The upper half 
of his sharp, dogged visage seems of a brick-red leather, 
the brow of badger's f m*, and, as he claps Drake on the 
back, with a broad Devon accent he shouts, ' Be you a- 
coming to drink your wine, Francis Drake, or be you not I 
saving your presence my lord.' The lord high admiral 
only laughs, and bids Drake go and drink his wine, for 
John Hawkins, admiral of the fleet, is the patriarch of 
Plymouth seamen, if Drake is the hero. 

26. " So they push through the crowd, wherein is many 
another man whom we would gladly have spoken with 
face to face on earth. Martin Frobisher and John Davis 
are sitting on that bench, smoking tobacco from long sil- 
ver pipes ; and by them are Fen ton and Wishington, who 
have both tried to follow Drake's path around the world, 
and failed, though by no fault of their own. The short, 
prim man, in the huge yellow ruif, is Richard Hawkins, 
the admiral's hereafter famous son. 

27. "But hark! the boom of a single gun seaward 
directs the attention of every one to a small armed vessel 
staggering up the sound under a press of canvas. A 
boat puts off ; its oars flash quickly in the sun ; the cap- 



176 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

tain lands, and, inquiring for the lord high admiral, is 
quickly brought into his presence. He has discovered 
the formidable array of the Spaniards bearing down with 
the wind like so many floating castles, the ocean seeming 
to groan under the weight of their heavy burdens. The 
lord high admiral proposes to hold counsel with his 
principal officers ; but, says Drake, with a hearty laugh : 
' Let us play out our play ; there w^ill be plenty of time 
to win the game and beat the Spaniards, too.' 

28. " The game was played out steadily, and, the last 
cast having been thrown, Drake and his comrades leaped 
into their boats and rowed swiftly to their respective 
ships. With so much skill did Howard and his lieuten- 
ants direct the movements of their squadrons that, be- 
fore morning, sixty of the best English ships had warped 
out of Plymouth Harbor." 

HOW THE NEWS SPREAD THROUGH ENGLAND. 

29. While preparations had been made to meet the 
Armada, there seems to have been a half expectation on 
the part of the government that something would occur to 
prevent its sailing. Until the very last, Elizabeth and her 
counselors appeared to place more confidence in diplomacy 
and political combinations than in the powers of Sir Fran- 
cis Drake and his coadjutors. So, when the Armada was 
seen off the coast, the signal-fires were kindled, and the 
whole kingdom was soon ablaze. The stirring verse of 
Macaulay best describes the spread of the news, the alarm, 
the anxiety, and the grand uprising of the whole people : 

30. Attend, all ye who list to hear 

Our noble England's praise ; 
I tell of the thrice-famous deeds 
She wrought in ancient days, 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA, 177 

When tliat great fleet invincible 

Against her bore in vain 
The richest spoils of Mexico, 

The stoutest hearts of Spain. 

31. It was about the lovely close 

Of a warm summer day, 
There came a gallant merchant-ship 

Full sail to Plymouth Bay ; 
Her crew hath seen Castile's black fleet, 

Beyond Aurigny's isle. 
At earliest twilight, on the waves. 

Lie heaving many a mile. 

32. At sunrise she escaped their van, 

By God's especial grace ; 
And the tall Pinta, till the noon, 
Had held her close in chase. 

33. Forthwith a guard at every gun 

Was placed along the wall ; 
The beacon blazed upon the roof 

Of Edgecumbe's lofty hall ; 
Many a light fishing-bark put out 

To ply along the coast, 
And with loose rein and bloody spur 

Pode inland many a post. 

34. With his white hair unbonneted. 

The stout old sheriff comes ; 
Before him march the halberdiers ; 

Behind him sound the drums ; 
His yeomen round the market cross 

Make clear an ample space ; 
For there behooves him to set up 

The standard of her Grace. 



178 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

35. And haughtily the trumpets peal, 

And gaylj dance the bells, 
As slow npon the laboring wind 

The royal blazon swells. 
Look how the Lion of the sea 

Lifts up his ancient crown. 
And underneath his deadly paw 

Treads the gay lilies down. 

36. So stalked he when he turned to flight, 

On that famed Picard field,* 
Bohemia's plume, and Genoa's bow, 

And Caesar's eagle shield. 
So glared he when at Agincourt 

In wrath he turned to bay. 
And crushed and torn beneath his claws 

The princely hunters lay. 

37. Ho ! Strike the flag-staff deep. Sir Knight : 

Ho ! scatter flowers, fair maids : 
Ho ! gunners, fire a loud salute : 

Ho ! gallants, draw your blades : 
Thou sun, shine on her joyously ; 

Ye breezes, waft her wide ; 
Our glorious semper eadem. 

The banner of our pride. 

38. The freshening breeze of eve unfurled 

That banner's massy fold ; 
The parting gleam of sunshine kissed 

That haughty scroll of gold ; 
!Night sank upon the dusky beach, 

And on the purple sea, 
Such night in England ne'er hath been 

J^or e'er again shall be. 

* The battle of Crecy, won by the Black Prince. 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 179 

39. From Eddjstone to Berwick bounds, 

From Lynn to Milf ord Bay, 
That time of slumber was as bright 

And busy as the day ; 
For swift to east and swift to west 

The ghastly war-flame spread, 
High on St. Michael's Mount it shone : 

It shone on Beachy Head. 

40. Far on the deep the Spaniard saw, 

Along each southern shire. 
Cape beyond cape, in endless range, 

Those twinkling points of fire. 
The fisher left his skiff to rock 

On Tamar's glittering waves : 
The rugged miners poured to war 

From Mendip's sunless caves : 

41. O'er Longleat's towers, o'er Cranbourne's oaks, 

The fiery herald flew : 
And roused the shepherds of Stonehenge, 

The rangers of Beaulieu. 
Eight sharp and quick the bells all night 

Rang out from Bristol town, 
And e'er the day three hundred horse 

Had met on Clifton down ; 

42. The sentinel on Whitehall gate 

Looked forth into the night, 
And saw o'erhanging Richmond Hill 

The streak of blood-red light. 
Then bugle's note and cannon's roar 

The death-like silence broke, 
And with one start, and with one cry, 

The royal city woke. 



180 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

43. At once on all her stately gates 

Arose the answering tires ; 
At once the wild alarum clashed 

From all her reeling spires ; 
From all the batteries gf the Tower 

Pealed loud the voice of fear ; 
And all the thousand masts of Thames 

Sent back a louder cheer : 

44. And from the farthest wards was heard 

The rush of hurrying feet, 
And the broad streams of pikes and flags 

Rushed down each roaring street ; 
And broader still became the blaze. 

And louder still the din, 
As fast from every village round 

The horse came spurring in : 

45. And eastward straight from wild Blackheath 

The warlike errand went, 
And roused in many an ancient hall 

The gallant squires of Kent. 
Southward from Surrey's pleasant hills 

Flew those bright couriers forth ; 
High on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor 

They started for the north ; 

46. And on, and on, without a pause 

Untired they bounded still ; 
All night from tower to tower they sprang ; 

They sprang from hill to hill : 
Till the proud peak unfurled the flag 

O'er Darwin's rocky dales. 
Till like volcanoes flared to heaven 

The stormy hills of Wales ; 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 181 

47. Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze 

On Malvern's lonely height, 
Till streamed in crimson on the wind 

The Wrekin's crest of light, 
Till broad and tierce the star came forth 

On Ely's stately fane, 
And tower and hamlet rose in arms 

O'er all the boundless plain ; 

48. Till Bel voir' s lordly terraces 

The sign to Lincoln sent, 
And Lincoln sped the message on 

O'er the wide vale of Trent ; 
Till Skidd aw saw the fire that burned 

On Gaunt' s embattled pile, 
And the red glare on Skiddaw roused 

The burghers of Carlisle. 

THE PRELIMINARY SKIRMISH. 

49. It was on Saturday, July 20th, a dull, misty day, 
that the two great fleets, which represented the cause of 
freedom on the one side and the longing after universal 
empire on the other, came in sight of each other. The 
great Armada, with its huge galleons in battle array ex- 
tending over a space of many miles, was suffered to sail 
up the Channel, past Plymouth Harbor, without molesta- 
tion. This was in accordance with the general plan of 
attack which had been agreed upon. 

50. The superior force of the Spaniards caused no 
fear, but rather a grim determination to overwhelm and 
destroy. The universal sentiment that seemed to prevail 
among all classes of Englishmen concerning their country 
finds fitting expression in the words which Shakespeare 
puts into the mouth of John of Gaunt : 



182 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

" This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, 
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, 
This other Eden, demi-paradise; 
This fortress, built by Nature for herself 
Against infection and the hand of war ; 
This happy breed of men, this little world ; 
This precious stone set in the silver sea. 
Which serves it in the office of a wall. 
Or as a moat defensive to a house, 
Against the envy of less happier lands; 
This blessed spot, this earth, this realm, this England, 
Dear for her reputation through the world." 

51. To guard this favored spot, and to protect its soil 
from the polluting footstep of the hated Spaniard, mari- 
ners went forth to do or die. It was now, in the moment 
of supreme peril, that the courage, hardihood, and skill of 
England's great navigators gained in battle with the ele- 
ments in the unknown seas of the North and West, and 
in many a strife against fearful odds with their Spanish 
foes, were found to be equal to the occasion and sufficient 
to insure the safety of their country. 

52. On Sunday morning, July 21st, the English ships 
commenced their attacks upon their nnwieldy antagonists. 
" The Spanish ships," says Motley, " seemed arrayed for 
a pageant in honor of a victory won. Arranged in the 
form of a crescent whose horns were seven miles asunder, 
those gilded towers and floating castles, with their brill- 
iant standards and martial music, bore slowly up the Chan- 
nel. The admiral, the ' Golden Duke,' stood in his pri- 
vate shot-proof tower, on the deck of his great galleon, 
the Saint Martin, surrounded by guards of infantry and 
captains of cavalry, no better acquainted than liimseK 
with naval tactics. 

53. " And just as the gadfly hovers about and stings 
the horse, which is all unable to escape from its tiny ene- 



TEE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 183 

mj, so round the heavy galleons and unwieldy ships of 
Spain the light English vessels, commanded by able and 
experienced seamen, hovered with the utmost freedom. 
Their superior tactics soon obtained the advantage of the 
wind, enabling them at intervals to cannonade their ene- 
mies with great effect, while they themselves escaped out 
of range at pleasure, and easily avoided the tremendous 
discharge of the Spanish ordnance. 

54. " In vain the Golden Duke attempted to bring on 
a general engagement. Howard and Drake were well 
aware that in a ship-to-ship light the strongest would ne- 
cessarily conquer, and that their only hope of success lay 
in keeping close upon the enemy's flanks, or following at 
his heels, cutting off a stray galleon, making a dash into 
his ill-managed squadrons, and so gradually but surely re- 
ducing his strength, until they could venture to give him 
battle on more equal terms." 

55. " The Armada," Mr. Froude says, " made sail and 
attempted to close. To Medina Sidonia's extreme aston- 
ishment, it seemed at the pleasure of the English to leave 
him or allow him to approach them as they chose. The 
high-towered, broad-bowed galleons moved like Thames 
barges piled with hay, while the sharp, low English ships 
sailed at near two feet to the Spaniards' one and shot 
away, as if by magic, in the eye of the wind. It was as 
if a modern steam fleet was engaged with a squadron of 
the old-fashioned sailing-vessels, choosing their own dis- 
tance, and lighting or not fighting, as suited their con- 
venience. 

56. "Astonished and confounded, as well by the ma- 
noeuvring as by the rapidity of the English fire, the Span- 
ish officers could not refuse their admiration. They knew 
they were inferior at sea, but had not fully realized their 
inferiority, notwithstanding the lessons Drake, Hawkins, 



184: TEN ORE AT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

Cavendish, and others had already taught them. But 
here were the Enghsh firing four shots to their one, while 
their ships were so nimble that, with a fresh breeze, even 
the swiftest of the Spanish ships could not touch them. 
Such splendid gunners and skillful seamen the Spaniards 
had never seen before, and were hardly able to believe in 
their existence." 

57. The wind was from the west, so that the English 
fleet were able to keep to the windward, giving them an 
increased advantage over their antagonists. The Spanish 
gunners, drafted from the army, could not manage the 
naval ordnance, and their shots flew high and scarcely 
touched the English ships. On the other hand, the Span- 
ish vessels were riddled with shot, and men fell killed 
and wounded on every side. But the ships were too 
strongly built to be easily destroyed, and so the monsters 
continued to receive fearful blows, and sailed wearily and 
helplessly on. Toward night, Medina Sidonia, finding it 
impossible to bring on a general engagement, signaled to 
make sail up the Channel, the rear to be covered by the 
squadron under his second in command, Don Martinez de 
Recaldi. 

58. '' The wind was now rising and promised a squally 
evening. The English ships withdrew for want of pow- 
der. An express was sent up to London for a fresh sup- 
ply. A fast boat was dispatched to Lord Harry Seymour, 
who commanded a fleet of coasters farther up the Channel, 
with a letter reporting progress so far, and bidding him 
be on the alert. But the misfortunes of the Spaniards 
were not yet over. The Capitana, one of their largest 
galleons, fouled with another vessel and broke her bow- 
sprit. She fell behind, and was left to her fate. In the 
morning Drake took possession of her, and found many 
casks of reals, and, what was of more importance, some 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 185 

tons of gunpowder, with which the Koebiick, the swiftest 
traveler of the fleet, flew to the lord admiral. 

69. "Shortly after dark another serious accident oc- 
curred. The officers of one of the great galleons, impa- 
tient and irritated at the results of the action, were quar- 
reling with one another. The captain struck the master- 
gunner with a stick. The gunner, who was from Holland, 
went below in a rage, thrust a burning linstock, or long 
match, into a powder-barrel, and sprang through a port- 
hole into the sea. The deck was blown off from stem to 
stern. Two hundred seamen and soldiers were sent into 
the air: some fell into the water and were drowned; 
some, scorched or mutilated, dropped back into the wreck. 
The ship, which was one of the largest in the fleet, was 
built so strongly that she survived the shock, and at day- 
light the English took possession of her. At the bottom 
of the hold were many barrels of powder, which Lord 
Howard so sorely needed." 

THE PROGRESS OF THE FIGHT 

60. On the morning of July 22d the Spanish admiral 
saw the remainder of the English fleet coming up from 
Plymouth Harbor, and he made all sail up the Channel. 
Owing to the want of. powder, the attack of the English 
was less vigorous than on the day before, but still they 
dogged the Spaniards in the most persevering manner, 
and succeeded in inflicting serious damage upon many of 
the Spanish vessels. The breeze from the west still con- 
tinued, but it was light, and the fleets made but little 
headway during the day. 

61. On Tuesday, July 23d, a strong morning breeze 
sprang up from the east, and the Spaniards found them- 
selves for the first time to the windward. Taking advan- 



186 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

tage of the situation, thev bore down upon the English 
fleet, and tried to bring on a general engagement. This 
challenge the English would not accept, and stood out to 
sea toward the west. The Spaniards thought they were 
retreating, and gave chase. All the galleons were bad 
sailers, but some were better than others, and soon the 
San Marcus outstripped her consorts. When several 
miles ahead of all her companions the wind shifted to 
the west, leaving the English to the windward. Lord 
Howard immediately bore down in his flag-ship, the Ark, 
and attacked the San Marcus, but she defended herself 
with great bravery, and for an hour and a half fought 
single-handed, delivering eighty shots and receiving Ave 
hundred. His powder again giving out. Lord Howard 
was obliged to withdraw. This action was fought off 
Plymouth Harbor, so that in the three days' fight the Ar- 
mada had made no substantial progress toward its desti- 
nation. 

62. " By this time the news that the Armada was in 
the Channel had circulated throughout the length and 
breadth of England, and from every creek and port and 
harbor came accession of goodly ships, equipped at the 
cost of leading squires and nobles, and manned by her 
' best blood.' From Lyme and Weymouth and Poole and 
the Isle of Wight, young lords and gentlemen came 
streaming out in every smack or sloop they could lay 
hold of, to snatch their share of danger and glory at 
Howard's side. The strength which they were able to 
add was little or nothing, but thej^ brought enthusiasm ; 
they brought to the half-starved crews the sense that the 
heart of all England was with them, and this assurance 
transformed every seaman into a hero. 

63. " On Tuesday evening, after the fight, Medina 
Sidonia counted a hundred sail behind him, and he ob- 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 187 

served, with some uneasiness, that the numbers were con- 
tinually increasing. On Wednesday, July 24:th, the 
weather was calm, and the English lay idle at a short 
distance from the Armada waiting for powder. 

64. " Thursday, July 25th, was the feast-day of Spain's 
patron saint, St. Jago ; of him who, mounted on a milk- 
white steed, had ridden in fore-front of battle in one of 
the Spanish encounters with the Moors, and had led them 
to victory. Should nothing on this holy day be done in 
his honor by those whom he had so greatly favored ? It 
was decided to make an attack. The galleys led the way, 
and in their van rode three of the four great galliasses, 
thrashing the sea to foam with three hundred oars apiece. 
The English met them with such tremendous discharges 
of chain-shot that, had not the wind risen about noon, 
enabling the Spanish ships to come up to their assistance, 
the galleys would surely have been taken. When the 
lord admiral withdrew his ships, the Spaniards were so 
cowed that they made no attempt to pursue them." 

65. " Thus," says Canon Kingsley, " the fight had thun- 
dered on the live-long afternoon, beneath the virgin cliffs 
of Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight, while myriad sea- 
fowl rose screaming from every ledge, and with their 
black wings spotted the snow-white walls of chalk ; and 
the lone shepherd hurried down the slopes above to peer 
over the dizzy ledge, and forgot the wheat-ear fluttering 
in his snare, while, trembling, he gazes upon glimpses of 
tall masts and gorgeous flags, piercing at times the league- 
broad veil of sulphur-smoke which weltered far below." 

BRIEF RESPITE FROM BATTLE. 

^%. Friday, July 26th, was a tranquil summer day. 
The wind died away, and the two fleets, but a few miles 



188 TEN GBEAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

apart, lay rocking on the waves. The Duke of Medina 
Sidonia took advantage of the pause and sent a swift mes- 
senger to the Prince of Parma, praying him to dispatch 
to his assistance forty small sailing-vessels, capable of con- 
tending with the light swift craft of the English. All 
the next day, July 2Yth, the two fleets sailed slowly up 
the Channel in hostile but silent companionship — the 
Spaniard convinced he could not meet the Englishman in 
open fight ; the Englishman heedful that he should not 
be surrounded by a superior force. At night the battered 
and maltreated Armada took refuge in the harbor of 
Calais. 

67. The same afternoon Lord Howard was joined by 
Sir Harry Seymour with his squadron of sixteen vessels, 
which had been keeping watch along the eastern ports, 
and the combined fleet dropped anchor to the eastward of 
Calais, and within a mile and a half of the Erench shore. 
" Never, since England was England," says Mr. Motley, 
"had such a sight been seen as now revealed itself in 
those narrow straits between Dover and Calais. Along 
that low, sandy shore, and quite within the range of the 
Calais fortifications, one hundred and thirty Spanish ships " 
— the greater number of them the largest and most heavi- 
ly armed in the world — lay face to face, and scarcely out 
of cannon-shot, with one hundred and fifty English sloops 
and frigates, the strongest and swiftest that the island 
could furnish, and commanded by men whose exploits had 
rung through the world. 

68. " Farther along the coast, invisible but known to 
be performing a most perilous and vital service, was a 
squadron of Dutch vessels of all sizes lining both the 
outer and inner of the sand-banks of the Flemish coasts 
and swarming in all the estuaries and inlets of that intri- 
cate and dangerous cruising-ground between Dunkirk and 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 189 

Texel. Those fleets of Holland and Zealand, numbering 
some one hundred and fifty galleons, sloops, and fly-boats, 
lay patiently blockading every possible egress from the 
ports in possession of the Duke of Parma, and longing to 
grapple with him as soon as his fleet of gunboats and 
hoys, packed with his Spanish and Italian veterans, should 
venture to set forth upon the sea for their long-meditated 
enterprise." 

69. This friendly attitude of the Dutch to the Eng- 
lish was due to a variety of causes. Both nations repre- 
sented the new religion in its struggle against the estab- 
lished church. In consequence of the terrible atrocities 
of the Duke of Alva, the Dutch had an inextinguishable 
hatred for the Spaniards, and were ready to do anything 
to thwart their plans and diminish their power. Then, 
too, the Dutch remembered how the ships of Elizabeth, 
laden with provisions, had brought succor to their be- 
leaguered cities and saved the lives of their famished peo- 
ple. So, animated by enmity on the one side and by 
gratitude on the other, the Dutch for a time forgot their 
struggle for maritime supremacy with the English, and 
brought all their force to bear to support the English 
cause in its hour of greatest need. 

70. The Spaniards seem never to have anticipated this 
energetic action on the part of the Dutch. The Duke of 
Medina Sidonia now found that he could get no direct 
sea communication with the Spanish land-forces ; and the 
Duke of Parma found himself in a situation where his in- 
vincible army was powerless, and his soldierly experience 
and talents were of no avail. The plans of the Spanish 
admiral to make use of the small vessels of Parma had 
been thwarted by the Dutch, and the dispersion of the 
Dutch vessels had been prevented by the fierce attack of 
Howard and Drake upon the Armada. 



190 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. • 

71. In coming to anchor on that Saturday night in 
Calais Harbor, however, the Spaniards had gained two im- 
portant points. Their ships were nnder the protection of 
friendly land-batteries ; and nothing remained to prevent 
the co-operation of the land-forces and the fleet. The 
Duke of Parma could march his forces westward and 
embark from Calais instead of Dunkirk, and thus tm'n 
the flank of the Dutch fleet. 

72. Sunday, July 29th, was a day of suspense and 
anxiety on the part of both the contending forces. The 
EngHsh knew that a junction with Parma was now pos- 
sible, and Howard and Drake were too good seamen not 
to know that, in a close and general engagement, the supe- 
rior size, weight, and numbers of the Spanish ships would 
prevail. On the other hand, the Spaniards knew that 
they were in an unsafe harbor should a strong wmd spring 
up from the west, and Medina Sidonia began to have a 
wholesome dread of the valor and strength which guarded 
the homes of Britain. The day passed in Sabbath quiet 
and repose, and when the sun set there was no indication 
that a night's strife was to follow, potential as shaping the 
future destinies of both Spain and England. 

FRIGHT AND FLIGHT. 

73. During the day, Captain Winter, of the English 
fleet, suggested that the Spaniards might be driven from 
their anchorage by fire-ships, and his plan was adopted. 
Six vessels were loaded with wild-fire, rosin, pitch, brim- 
stone, and other combustibles, and made ready to sail. 
The night was dark, with indications in sky and sea of a 
coming gale. " When the Spanish bells," says Froude, 
" were about striking twelve, and, save the watch on deck, 
soldiers and seamen lay stretched in sleep, certain dark 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA, 191 

objects, which had been seen dimly drifting in the tide 
near where the galleons lay thickest, shot suddenly into 
pyramids of light, flames leaping from ruddy sail to sail, 
flickering on the ropes and forecastles, masts and bow- 
sprits, a lurid blaze of conflagration. 

74. " A cool commander might have ordered out his 
boats and towed the fire-ships clear ; but Medina Sidonia, 
with a strain already upon him beyond the strength of his 
capacity, saw coming some terrible engine of destruction, 
hke the floating mine which had shattered Parma's bridge 
at Antwerp. Panic spread through the entire Armada. 
Hasty and impetuous cries arose on board each menaced 
vessel. ' Up anchors, comrades ! Out every stitch of can- 
vas ! Away, away ! for in the track of those blazing ships 
follow death and ruin ! ' 

75. " There are times when immense bodies of men 
suddenly give way to the influence of a needless but over- 
mastering panic, and this was one of them. Every cable 
was cut ; galleon, galliasse, and patache drove hurriedly 
through the press of shipping, each heedless of its com- 
rade's danger, and seeking frantically some channel of 
escape. In vain the Duke of Medina Sidonia attempted 
to reform his disordered array. So long as the darkness 
lasted, the confusion prevailed ; and ship after ship reeled, 
staggered, and drifted out to sea. Several of the Spanish 
ships were disabled, two were burned, and it was not until 
they found themselves six miles from shore, and at a 
secure distance from the smoldering hulks, that they re- 
covered from their terror." 

RENEWAL OF THE FIGHT. 

76. On Monday, July 29th, when the day dawned. 

Lord Howard discovered the Spanish fleet in great disor- 
9 



192 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

der, scattered over a wide spacG in the Cliannel. He im- 
mediately ordered an advance, and, while Drake made a 
bold attack upon the main body of the enemy, the lord 
high admiral drove upon the sands several of the sluggard 
vessels of the Armada which the fire-ships had failed to 
drive out to sea. For several hours he engaged the great 
galhasse under the direct command of Admiral Moncada, 
which was aground upon the sands. The vessel was cap- 
tured and Moncada slain, and the English admiral has- 
tened to the assistance of Drake. 

77. " It was well," says Froude, " that no more time 
was wasted over so small a matter. Lord Howard had 
already delayed too long for his fame. It was no time 
for the admiral of the fleet to be loitering over a stray 
feather which had dropped from the enemy's plume when 
every ship was imperiously needed for a far more impor- 
tant service. Medina Sidonia intended to return to Calais, 
but his ships had drifted in the night far to the east, and 
before his signal of return could be obeyed the English 
fleet was upon them. 

78. " Sir Henry Seymour, with his sixteen ships, hav- 
ing the advantage of wind, speed, and skill, came upon a 
cluster of Spanish galleons at eight in the morning. He- 
serving their fire till within a hundred and twenty yards, 
and wasting no cartridges, the English ships continued 
through the entire forenoon to pour upon them one con- 
tinuous rain of shot. They were driven together, and 
became entangled in a confused and helpless mass. 

79. " Drake, in the mean time, had fallen upon a score 
of galleons under the direct command of Medina Sidonia 
himself. They were better handled than the rest, and 
were endeavoring to keep sea-room and retain some com- 
mand of themselves. But their wretched sailing powers 
put them to a disadvantage, for which no skill or courage 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA, I93 

could compensate. Tlie English were always at windward 
of them ; and, hemmed in at every turn, they, too, were 
forced back upon their consorts, hunted together as a 
shepherd hunts sheep upon a common, and the whole 
mass of them were forced slowly eastward, away from the 
only harbor open to them, and into the unknown waters 
of the J^orth Sea. 

80. " Howard came up at noon to join in the work of 
destruction. The Spaniards' gun-practice, always bad, was 
helpless beyond all past experience. From eight o'clock 
in the morning until sunset the English, almost untouched 
themselves, fired into them without intermission at short 
range. They ceased only when the last cartridge was 
spent, and every man was weary with labor. They took 
no prizes, and they attempted to take none. Their orders 
were to sink and destroy. They saw three great galleons 
go down, and three more drift toward the sands, where 
their destruction was certain. 

81. " On board the Spanish ships all was consternation 
and despair. Toward sunset the great Santa Maria went 
down with all on board. When the ships' companies 
were called over, it was discovered that no less than four 
thousand men had been killed or drowned, and twice as 
many wounded. The survivors were so utterly dispirited 
that nothing could induce them to face England's sea- 
kings again." 

CHASE AND DESTRUCTION. 

82. On Tuesday afternoon, July 30th, Lord Howard 
summoned a council of war, which decided upon a course 
of action. Lord Henry Seymour with his squadron was 
to return to guard the mouth of the Thames against any 
attempt on the part of Parma, while the remainder of the 
fleet was to continue the chase of the Armada. Ninety 



194 TEN^ GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

vessels, under Howard, Drake, and Frobisher, followed 
the flying Spaniards into the J^orth Sea. " We have the 
army of Spain before us," Drake wrote, " and hope, with 
the grace of God, to wrestle a fall with him. There was 
never anything pleased me better than seeing the enemy 
flying with a southerly wind to the northward. God 
grant you have a good eye to the Duke of Parma, for, if 
we live, I doubt not to handle the matter with the Duke 
of Sidonia, as he shall wish himself at St. Mary's Port, 
among his orange-trees ! " 

83. The wind, now strong from the south, had risen 
to a gale. The Spanish ships, so fashioned as to sail only 
before the wind, were driven northward. Between them 
and the shore, where lay possible safety, was the dreadful 
English fleet, which had battered them so sorely during 
the past ten days. Before them was the sea, full of un- 
known perils. " [NTot only man but God was against them. 
His wind blew discomfiture to their meditated enterprise. 
More than one poor, crij^pled ship dropped behind as her 
spars snapped, or the water made its way through her 
wounded seams in the straining seas. The Spaniards, strick- 
en with a wonderful fear, made no attempt to succor their 
consorts, but pressed heavily on, leaving them to founder." 

84. The pursuit continued until Friday, August 2d. 
There was now no more danger to be apprehended from 
the scattered enemy. The wind was threatening, and, the 
supply of provisions beginning to fail, Howard and Drake 
determined on returning homeward, leaving a couple of 
pinnaces to dog the Spaniards past the Scottish isles. 
Though the wind was contrary, they beat back against it 
without loss, and in four or five days the vessels, with 
their half -starved crews, all safely arrived in Margate 
Koads, having done the noblest service that fleet ever ren- 
dered to a country in the hour of supreme peril. 



TEE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 195 

85. " Meanwhile, so mucli as remained of the Invinci- 
ble Armada was buffeted to and fro bj the resistless gale, 
like a shuttlecock between two invisible players. The 
monster left its bones on the iron-bound shore of J^orway 
and on the granite cliffs of the Hebrides. Its course could 
be traced by its wrecks. Day followed day, and still 
God's wrath endured. On the 5th of August Admiral 
Oguendo, in his flag-ship, together with one of the great 
gahiasses and thirty-eight other vessels, were driven by 
the fury of the tempest upon the rocks and reefs of Ire- 
land, and nearly every soul on board perished. Of one 
hundred and thirty-four vessels which, gay with gold and 
amid triumphal shouts and loud music, had sailed from 
Corunna July 12th, only fifty-three battered and useless 
hulks returned to the ports of Spain." 

86. The fate and exploits of the Armada are graphic- 
ally summed up in the emphatic language of Sir Francis 
Drake. " It is happily manifested," he says, " indeed, to 
all nations how their navy which they termed invincible, 
consisting of nearly one hundred and forty sail of ships, 
were by thirty of her Majesty's ships of war, and a few 
of our own merchants, by the wise and advantageous con- 
duct of Lord Charles Howard, High Admiral of England, 
beaten and shuffled together from Lizard in Cornwall to 
Portland, from Portland to Calais ; and from Calais, driven 
by squibs from their anchors, were chased out of sight of 
England, round about Scotland and Ireland. With all 
their great and terrible ostentation, they did not, in all 
their sailing round about England, so much as sink or 
take one ship, bark, pinnace, or cock-boat of ours, or even 
burn so much as one sheep-cote on the land.'^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 
FREEDOMS VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 

DISSENT AND PERSECUTION. 

1. Theough tlie middle ages England, like the rest 
of the world, had been in full commnnion with the 
Church of Rome. When the Eeformation had swept over 
Europe and left dissent to crystallize into various Prot- 
estant sects, England too had dissented, and her Idng 
had established the Anglican Church. This church, 
when it assumed final form, had for its supreme head, 
not the pope, but the king, and under him the clergy 
held their offices. The Roman Cathohc ritual was 
not, as in some of the European sects, entirely given 
up, but was modified to suit the new order. And when 
the change was effected, the new ministers firm in their 
positions, the new service-books ready for use, then the 
Catholics were summarily ordered to embrace the re- 
formed faith. 

2. At that time it had not dawned upon the world 
that there might be more than one way to worship God 
in truth. Catholics honestly believed that Protestants 
were going straight to perdition, and Protestants as hon- 
estly believed that a like fate was in store for the pope 
and his followers. When this w^as the temper of convic- 
tion, the natural thing for each church to do was to perse- 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 197 

cute every other ; not from hate, but from the benevolent 
determination to oblige men to accept the true religion 
and save their souls, even though it might be necessary 
in the course of proceedings to burn their bodies. Mixed 
with this legitimate missionary spirit were all sorts of polit- 
ical motives. The church, whether Catholic or Protest- 
ant, was closely connected with the state, and through 
all the corruptions of party politics religion had to be 
dragged. 

3. So, when the English state established Protestant- 
ism, its first duty and interest was to suppress Catholi- 
cism. After two Protestant kings, a Catholic queen came 
to the throne, and with her the Protestants fell and the 
Catholics rose. The former were forbidden their service, 
their ministers were turned out of their positions ; fines, 
imprisonment, burning punished those who held out 
against the "true faith." Again the scene changed. 
The queen died, and by her Protestant successor free- 
dom of worship w^as denied to Catholics, and the Angli- 
can Church was re-established as the Church of England. 

4. Meantime, in the Chnrch of England a spirit of 
criticism had grown up. Stricter thinkers disliked the 
imposing ceremonies Avhich the English church still re- 
tained : some of the ministers ceased to wear gowns in 
preaching, performed the marriage ceremony without 
using a ring, and were in favor of simplifying all the 
church service. Unpretentious workers began to tire of 
the everlasting quarreling, and to long for a religion sim- 
ple and quiet. These soon met trouble, for the rulers 
had decided that salvation was by the Church of Eng- 
land, as the sovereign, its head, should order. Dissent 
was the two-fold guilt of heresy and revolution — sin 
against God and crime against the king and English law. 
They were forbidden to preach at all if they would not 



198 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

wear a gown during service, and the people who went 
to hear them were punished. This treatment caused seri- 
ous thought among the " non-conformists," as thej were 
called, and, once thinking, thej soon concluded that the 
king had no such supreme right to order the church, and 
the church had over its ministers no such right of abso- 
lute dictation. 

5. Various sects sprang np, called by various names, 
differing among themselves upon minor points, but agree- 
ing more or less in dissent from the full, unquestioned 
rule and service of the Episcopal Church. Against all 
these dissenters the laws acted as against the Catholics. 
Not only must Englishmen be Protestants, they must be 
Protestants of the Church of England. Bodies were or- 
ganized to keep strict watch of the non-conformists. 
They were forbidden their simpler church worship and 
•fined if they did not attend that of the English Church. 
They were "scoffed and scorned by the profane multi- 
tude, and so vexed, as truly their affliction was not small." 

JOHN ROBINSON'S CONGREGATION. 

6. Among that division of the non-conformists called 
Puritans was a little congregation at Scrooby, a town in 
north England. The pastor was John Pobinson, wise, 
kind, dignified, scholarly ; and his helper in church work 
and government was Elder William Brewster, a college 
man who had served at the royal court. For the rest, 
the congregation were mainly Bible-reading farmers, who 
wished only to live in peace according to Bible teaching. 
Poyal servants were watchful, and an open church was 
out of the question ; but every Sunday they met for serv- 
ice wherever they could, sometimes in Elder Brewster's 
big house, sometimes out-doors, anywhere so that they 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 199 

might listen to their beloved pastor. During the week 
they worked their farms, thinking and talking of the in- 
iquities of the Catholics, the impurities of the Episcopa- 
lians, the hard ways that beset the Puritans, and the right- 
eons God who looked down upon it all to record and avenge. 

7. Quiet as such a simple church in a corner of Eng- 
land must have been, it was not left undisturbed. Priests 
of the dominant church and officers of the civil service 
soon pounced down with the demand that the Puritan 
farmers stop all this '^ new-fangledness," and return to 
the ways of the loyal church. John Robinson's people, 
however, had no notion of giving up their new-fangled- 
ness. They possessed a full share of English obstinacy, 
and, backed in it by their consciences, were not likely to 
surrender at once. So their troubles began. They 
" were hunted and persecuted on every side. Some were 
clapped into prisons, others had their houses beset and 
watched night and day, and hardly escaped their hands, 
and the most were fain to fly and leave their houses and 
habitations and the means of tiieir livelihood." 

8. What shall we do 1 thought the distressed farmers. 
"We can not live in such persecution. We will have to 
go away. Give up ? Indeed, no ! We shall not belie 
our consciences for any man. Since God is behind us, 
we will not conform. And, under opposition and in- 
justice, Puritan lips set themselves rigid, Puritan hearts 
closed against the persecutors, strong reaction from the 
beautiful ceremonies and graceful living that could hide 
such unbrotherliness became almost worship of unloveli- 
ness and hardship. In after years the lives of their 
descendants were shaped into a narrow severity, not 
drawn from the sweetness and light of the gospel which 
they read, but from the bitter fountains of their early 
sufferings and wrongs. 



200 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

9. What shall we do ? cried the harassed farmers. We 
will have to leave our home and go to Holland, where 
others like us have already gone, and where, we hear, is 
freedom of religion for all men. Yet how should they 
get there i " for, though they could not stay, yet were they 
not suffered to go." And, if they should get there, how 
could they, who '^ had only been used to a plain country 
life and the innocent trade of husbandry," manage to live 
in a country where people spoke an outlandish language 
instead of good English, and earned their money by trade. 

10. Somehow God would help. Give up their relig- 
ion they would not. They set about going. They 
bribed ship captains, feed the sailors, paid unreasonable 
rates for passage, and then, deserted by these same cap- 
tains and sailors, tried it again with others, were betrayed 
into the hands of officers who rifled them of what money 
they had left and turned them over to prison. Hard 
luck ! Set free from prison, they bargained with a Dutch- 
man to take them in his ship to Holland, but as they were 
going aboard a company of armed men surprised them, 
and the Dutchman, afraid to be seen in such company, 
hastily sailed away with half the " Pilgrims," leaving the 
rest terrified on the shore. 

11. " Take us back ! " cried the men. " Don't you 
see our wives and children crying after us ! " But the 
Dutchman was afraid of the soldiers. " What will they 
do vdthout us ! " cried the men, straining their eyes to 
see all that was happening on shore. ^^ Our goods are 
not yet aboard — take us back ! " ISTo ase. The Dutch- 
man sailed away, and the soldiers carried off the fright- 
ened women and children to prison. When the authori- 
ties had them safely locked up, they did not know what 
to do with silly women and helpless children, who cried 
for their husbands and fathers, and when asked concern- 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 201 

ing their homes cried the more and declared they hadn't 
any ; and, after making themselves sufficient trouble, they 
solved the important problem by letting the ridiculous 
creatures go again. The Dutchman's ship, through a 
terrible storm, came to land. The distressed husbands 
sought the distressed wives, and troublous wanderings 
ended in reunion. So were they continually thwarted ; 
but, by one means or another, determined wills bent cir- 
cumstances to their end, and at last they reached Holland. 

12. Strangers as they were, destitute, all unused to 
the new life and people, they had trouble enough at first, 
but they wasted little time staring at the new world. It 
was a world they were to become a part of as soon as 
possible, and, with characteristic earnestness, they fell to 
work at any thing they found to do. After a year in 
Amsterdam they settled in Leyden. They made them 
homes. They learned as best they could the uncouth 
language. They taught their farmer hands unaccus- 
tomed crafts, and applied their farmer heads to the mys- 
teries of trade. 

13. Elder Brewster, with the tastes and habits of a 
gentleman, a rapidly diminishing property, and a large 
family of children, looked about for work, and presently 
obtained pupils whom he taught English after an original 
method. Later he set up a printing-press, and in printing 
Puritan books, forbidden to be published in England, 
found plenty to do. Mr. Eobinson visited his people and 
was busy for their welfare, preached, studied, wrote books ; 
he was a kind friend and helper, and a scholar besides, and 
proud of him were his devoted flock. 

14. Leyden Dutchmen looked with curiosity upon the 
knot of plain foreigners, sober men, quiet women, chil- 
dren named after all the Bible saints and heavenly virtues. 
Bibles they bought and evidently read. It was rumored 



202 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

that together every morning and before each meal each 
household held service of prayer, and long sermons and 
various devotions wholly filled the Sabbath. Queer peo- 
ple, meditated the Hollanders. But they soon found 
that it was safe to trust the Bible readers. Though they 
were peculiar about Sunday, they were surprisingly cer- 
tain to keep their promises, and for all their propensity to 
pray without ceasing they made most faithful workmen. 
Superintendents sought them for laborers, merchants will- 
ingly gave them credit ; and with the passing years they 
became settled and quietly prosperous. The Bibles were 
not neglected, the daily prayers and weekly sermons were 
methodically attended. 

15. The unpretentious people were not unobserved. 
Many from England came to enjoy like freedom of wor- 
ship, and far outside of Leyden John Eobinson's learn- 
ing was known. When Arminians and Calvinists fell 
into hot disputes, and Leyden ministers and university 
professors held public meetings twice a week to settle 
knotty points of doctrine, John Robinson was always 
there, listening eagerly to both sides. Many a famous 
talk he had with the ministers and professors. We must 
have Mr. Robinson confute the Arminians, cried his 
friends among themselves. 

16. So on a day the Puritan pastor, somewhat demur- 
ring because he was a foreigner, yet withal not loath to 
ride a tilt with the enemy, confronted Episcopus, the 
Arminian professor ; and it is reported by the Calvinists 
that his overwhelming arguments utterly nonplussed and 
put the great Episcopus to rout. Oh, those theological 
debates ! About the paltry affairs of this world it was 
not right to quarrel. When personal considerations were 
at stake, Puritan worthies could bridle the tongue; but 
when was called in question some keenly felt phase of 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA, 203 

the truth, some doctrine their precious Bible seemed to 
teach, then the repressed fire burst into legitimate ilame, 
and righteous indignation with magnificent effect hurled 
back and forth the thunderbolts of prophecy and psalm. 

THE DEPARTURE FROM LEYDEN. 

17. After some eleven or twelve years of this life in 
Leyden the Puritans began to grow restless. Holland 
was not home to them, and they were lonely. Some of 
them were growing old, and the somber burden of j)ov- 
erty and exile began to weary the brave shoulders. The 
children were growing up, and hard work and cramped 
life pressed all too severely upon the young natures, so 
that they either threw off the yoke and turned to bad 
ways or, bearing it patiently, missed the chance of educa- 
tion and grew old before their time. They feared to 
stay longer in this foreign country lest the children 
should learn from the Dutch to break the Sabbath, should 
lose their native language, should cease to be English- 
men. 

18. Perhaps it would be best to move again and set- 
tle in some land under the flag of dear England — harsh 
England, that would not grant them peace at home. 
Though they should have to go to most distant regions, 
they would cheerfully go, and consider themselves God's 
missionaries there, if only they might have the protec- 
tion of England's king. They would go and break the 
way for others of their countrymen less strong, and in 
America, if need be, prepare an English home for Eng- 
lishmen. 

19. Gravely the elders talked together. The uncon- 
genial life had been cheerfully borne ; a new uprooting 
and uncertain change would be as steadfastly carried 



204 TEN GREAT EVENTS IR HISTORY. 

througli, once thej were sure God willed it. And at last 
it seemed best to decide upon removal. " The dangers 
were great but not desperate, the difficulties w^ere many 
but not invincible — and all of them, through the help of 
God, by fortitude and patience, might either be borne or 
overcome." Sturdy courage ! O England, to exile such 
sons ! 

20. Where, then, should they go ? "I will guide thee," 
reads the promise of the Puritan's Bible, and to God they 
turn in prayer for direction. A general meeting is held, 
and much discussion results in the decision to cross the 
Atlantic to Yirginia, Great Britain's vast new realm. 
They would not settle near the colony already planted 
there, for that was of the Episcopal Church and might 
molest them ; but away by themselves somewhere — any- 
where, if only they might nestle in a remote comer of 
their king's dominions, and on English soil be free to fol- 
low their own conscience. God and the king was the 
loyal thought — yet, if there must be choice, the king shall 
not be first. 

21. But, sending petition to the king, they found that 
he would give them no assurance of freedom of worship ; 
it was intimated that, if they did go, the royal eye might 
be expected to wink at the proceeding ; but, as for prom- 
ises, royalty would not commit itself. Here was a dis- 
couragement. How should they dare break up their 
homes and cross the ocean to an unknown, uncolonized 
land, with no assurance of protection and liberty when 
they arrived there ? But the leaders rallied again : " If 
on the king's part, there is a purpose or desire to wrong 
us," they cried, " though we had a seal as broad as the 
house-floor it would not serve the turn, for there would 
be means enough found to recall or reverse it. . . . We 
must rest herein on God's providence, as we have done 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 205 

before." Not lacking in comprehension of the world's 
ways and in canny shrewdness were those Puritans ! 

22. Wearisome negotiations then began with men who 
should furnish means for the removal. Back and forth, 
from Ley den to London, from London to Ley den, the 
agents went ; letters passed from Robinson and Brewster 
to the London merchants, and from the London merchants 
back. Poor Robert Cushman, agent for the Puritans, 
experienced numerous tribulations ; pushed by the mer- 
chants to make an agreement, blamed by his friends for 
going beyond his instructions, his letters defending him- 
self give a spirited glimpse into the harrowed soul of a 
quick-tempered Christian. 

23. After months of all this, the arrangements were 
concluded. A body of London merchants agreed to 
furnish ships and provisions for the passage, on certain 
conditions : for seven years after landing the Puritans 
were to hold all property in common ; they were to fish, 
plant, build, and at the end of seven years were to share 
with the merchants, according to certain specified con- 
ditions, the accumulated property, capital, and profits. 
Hard terms ! But they could not choose, and go they 
must. 

2i. Who should go ? This question agitated the Ley- 
den congregation. ]^ot all could take the voyage. Per- 
haps not all cared to : it was so far, so far ! Yet the most 
were willing, and it remained to select from the large con- 
gregation those most fit for the hard task. There was 
dividing of friend from friend, of husband from wife, of 
father from child. Elder Brewster would go as their 
spiritual leader, since the beloved pastor must for the 
present stay with those who remained, hoping later to 
cross the sea and come to them. 

25. A ship, the Speedwell, was fitted up in Holland ; 



206 TEN- GEE AT EVEXTS IF HISTORY. 

another, the Mayflower, awaited them in England. 
"When all was ready they appointed a day of solemn fast- 
ing and prayer. Pastor Robinson preached to them " a 
good part of the day " on the text, " And there at the 
river, by Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might hum- 
ble ourselves before our God and seek of him a right 
way for us and for our children and for all our substance," 
and " the rest of the time was spent in pouring out prayers 
to the Lord with great fervency mixed with abundance 
of tears." Again they met together in a "feast" at the 
pastors house. Sorry feasting ! 

26. The hospitality was large, but hearts were too full 
for much but tears : a tender, painful farewell gathering, 
their white-haired pastor going about among them with 
words of comfort and counsel, gentle last suggestions, 
scripture texts believed, though the voice that repeats 
them trembles and breaks — believed and clung to through 
the tug of parting. " Fear thou not, for I am with thee. 
Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen 
thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with 
the right hand of my righteousness ! " " God is our refuge 
and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore 
will not we fear, though the earth be removed and 
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the 
sea. The Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is 
our refuge." Yes, they believed. And believing, they 
sang through tears — quivering pain notes at first, then, 
faith dominating, the tones grew firmer and sustained, 
until the final words rang out clear and strong ; and with 
the end of the hymn they were ready for last earnest 
hand-clasps and quiet good-night. 

2T. To take ship, they went to Delft Haven, fourteen 
miles from Ley den, and to the port Pastor Robinson, 
with most of their friends, accompanied them. One 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 207 

more night on land, then tlie long voyage and the un- 
certain future. There was little sleep that night; and 
again, with Bible words and Christian counsel, hearts were 
strengthened. 

28. In the morning, the wind being fair, " thej went 
aboard and their friends with them, where truly doleful 
was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to see 
what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound among them." 
We know, we know — God is our refuge — but sore is the 
parting. We are willing — but our hearts are wrung. 
There is no thought of regret or turning — but oh, the 
pain of it ! The Dutchmen, loitering in the sunshine on 
the shore, watching with heavy curiosity this strange de- 
parture, suddenly find their own eyes filled with sym- 
pathetic tears. We must be off ! cries the captain, half 
impatient over so much fervency and tears. They kneel 
around the pastor, and, with unsteady voice, though his 
trust is firm, he calls upon the God in whom they believe 
to guide and bless these his children. Once more the 
arms cling close. Mother, mother, how can I let you go ! 
My child, my child ! — Beloved, you will come over to me 
soon. Oh, my husband ! — God wills it ; I must go. My 
son, I shall not live to see your face again. — Loosen the 
clasping arms ; unfold the clinging fingers. You stay 
and we go, and the ocean lies between. The wind comes 
breathing, the sails fill; good-by ! good-by! across the 
widening space — and they are gone. 

THE VOYAGE. 

29. They sailed first to meet the Mayflower and oth- 
ers of the Puritan company at Southampton, England. 
There they called Eobert Cushman to account, fell out 
with one of their London patrons, read together an affec- 



208 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

tionate farewell letter from Mr. Robinson, made all final 
arrangements for the voyage, and on August 5tli, 1620, 
set sail in tlie two ships for America. But the captain 
of the Speedwell, half-hearted in the business, twice had 
them back to land to repair pretended leaks ; and the sec- 
ond time, putting in at Plymouth, it was determined to 
leave the Speedwell and a part of the Puritan band. 
The little company, small enough before, was again re- 
duced, "like Gideon's army." Some were discouraged 
with the many hindrances and willingly stayed; some 
were begining to fear for the success of the voyage, un- 
dertaken so late in the season ; some were weak, and 
could be spared where there was need of the strongest ; 
some little children were sent back to await a later pas- 
sage ; Robert Cushman, vexed to the soul by the unsatis- 
factoriness of his negotiations, sick and disheartened, 
stayed behind. Again there were sad parting, tears, and 
prayers ; but God would sustain, and, leaving the com- 
panion ship and the last friends, the Mayflower sailed 
from Plymouth, September 6th. 

30. One hundred and two " Pilgrims," seeking a bet- 
ter country : men, women, children, servants and hand- 
maidens. Elder William Brewster with his wife Mary, 
his two sons Love and Wrestling, and a boy, Richard 
More; the Winslows, with two men-servants and Rich- 
ard More's little sister Ellen ; William Bradford and his 
wife Dorothy, their only child being left behind ; the 
-Allertons, the Martins, the Whites, with their son Re- 
solved ; Mr. and Mrs. Mullins with their children Joseph 
and Priscilla, and a servant ; Mr. Hopkins and his family ; 
Mr. Warren, lonely enough without the wife and chil- 
dren left behind ; John Billington, his wife Ellen, and his 
two sons; the two Tilley families, with their cousins 
Henry Samson and Humility Cooper, children whose 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 209 

parents were not with them ; Mr. Cook and John his 
son, his wife and other children being in England jet ; 
John Rigdale and Alice his wife ; Miles Standish, bold 
English soldier, with Rose Lis wife ; John Alden, the 
cooper, " a hopeful young man and much desired " ; 
Thomas Tinker, with his wife and child ; these and many 
others in the little ship sailed over the wide ocean in search 
of an English home where Englishmen might freely wor- 
ship God. 

31. The voyage at first was fair enough. They were 
seasick, some of them ; the children had to be watched 
lest they fall overboard ; a profane bully of a sailor, after 
using all manner of abuse toward the sick ones, himself 
fell ill and died, " And," says William Bradford, record- 
ing it, " thus his curses light on his own head, and it was 
an astonishment to all his fellows, for they noted it to be 
the just hand of God upon him." Later came storms and 
danger, with breaking of masts, eager consultation among 
the ship's officers, water, wind, confusion ; but the masts 
were mended and they " committed themselves to the 
will of God and resolved to proceed." Big John How- 
land, coming on deck, was thrown into the sea by a lurch 
of the ship, but with a rope was hauled in again and 
saved. Before they came to land a little boy was born in 
the Hopkins family, and they named him Oceanus ; and 
Samuel Fuller's servant, a young man named William 
Butten, died as they neared the coast. . 

32. The hard voyage was over at last, and on the 9th 
of November Cape Cod appeared. They knew about 
Cape Cod from the map and book of Captain John 
Smith, who had tried to plant a colony there some years 
before, but they intended to land somewhere near the 
Hudson River, and turned south along the coast. Shoals 
and breakers barring their passage that way, they returned. 



210 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

and, on November llth, anchored in Cape Cod harbor. 
" Being now passed the vast ocean and a sea of troubles, 
before their preparation unto further proceedings . . . 
they fell down upon their knees and blessed the Lord, the 
God of Heaven, who had brought them over the vast and 
furious ocean, and delivered them from all perils and 
miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and 
stable earth, their proper element." 

33. So there thej were, and as yet no one had left 
the ship. It was winter. The cold blue ocean beat the 
cold white shore, and the dark forest further back rustled 
and moaned in the north wind, w^histling bleak welcome. 
What could those women and children do there ? "West 
from the sea lay an unexplored country, no one knew how 
large ; dark forest uninhabited, save for the dusky Indian, 
clothed the land in an unbroken mystery of wilderness ; 
north and south stretched the desolate coast, stretched 
five hundred miles ere it reached the nearest European 
settlement ; east lay the ocean, not to be recrossed. How 
could the men build shelter in the midst of a northern 
winter? And they must build, for the ship's store of 
provisions was none too large, and the captain impatient 
to be off again before famine set in. After ages of com- 
fort — shiver to think of it ! — that lone, cold landing ; the 
stretching, desolate coast ; the cutting, wind-blown snow ; 
the little anchored ship, bearing treasure of warm human 
hearts, strong human wills, clear purpose, courage un- 
tamed. Slight protection, tlie rocking ship, for such pre- 
cious store of life, with that white, relentless winter com- 
ing down upon the bay. 

34. The day of casting anchor, those steadfast, earnest 
men, whose God was the Lord, and whose king was 
James of England, gathered in the Mayflower cabin and, 
by a formal statement written and signed, formed them- 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 211 

selves into a civil state, Note the words of the compact ; 
" In the name of God, amen. We, whose names are un- 
derwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, 
King James — " have fled over seas from English perse- 
cution? !No — "have undertaken, for the glory of God 
and the advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of 
our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony 
in the northern parts of Yirginia." God and the king ; 
true Christians and true Englishmen. The document 
reads with a calm dignity, a clear political instinct, a sol- 
emn religious faith, worthy of Englishmen. They may 
have braved English laws for conscience' sake, but there 
is no bmvado ; they may keenly feel the injustice they 
have experienced, but there w^as no repining. 

35. Then began expeditions to the land. The men, 
under Captain Standish, went in parties in a small boat, 
returning to the ship at night, or, in some cases, they 
camped on the shore and were away from the ship several 
days. Wading to the shore through water too shallow 
even for the small boat, with sea-spray freezing as it 
covered them, tramping through the snow, breaking 
through the forest, with prayer each morning, and always 
a day of rest on Sunday, they explored the coast and wil- 
derness for the best place to settle. They found yellow 
Indian com buried by the Indians in sand-heaps, and car- 
ried it to the ship, counting it God's special providence 
that they were thus provided w^ith seed to plant tlie next 
year. " The Lord is never wanting unto his in their 
greatest needs ; let his holy E^ame have all the praise ! " 
cried "William Bradford. I^ovember wore away, dark 
and wild, and with set teeth December came. Back and 
forth went the exploring parties. A skirmish with the 
Indians took place ; but " it pleased God to vanquish 
their enemies and give them deliverance, and by his spe- 



212 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

cial providence so to dispose, tliat not any one of them 
was liurt or hit, though their arrows came close." There- 
upon they gave the Lord solemn thanks, and named the 
place " The First Encounter." 

36. After a stormy, dangerous week, Saturday, Decem- 
ber 9th, dawned clear, and the sun shone down on the 
snowy world. The Sabbath day the explorers observed 
on shore, and Monday they "sounded the harbor and 
found it ht for shipping, and marched into the land and 
found a . . . place fit for situation ; at least, it was the best 
they could find, and the season and their present neces- 
sity made them glad to accept of it. So they returned to 
their ship again with this news to the rest of theii* people, 
which did much comfort their hearts." This day, Decem- 
ber 11th, old style, corresponding to December 21st, new 
style, is celebrated as the date of the " landing of the Pil- 
grims." 

37. Meantime, what of those left in the ship these 
four dreary weeks ? The ways of life went on in births 
and deaths ; six of the wanderers found the door of the 
other world ; and Peregrine White came into this — first- 
born of New England. The little boy Jasper More, who 
came in care of the Carvers, died ; and Dorothy Brad- 
ford fell overboard and was drowned while her husband 
was exploring the coast. The men had terrible coughs 
and colds from wading through the freezing sea, and the 
women were beginning to suffer from the hardship of it 
all. The children, child-like, adapted themselves to the 
situation. Mr. Billington being gone to the shore, his 
son John, with the family gun well loaded, took occasion 
to try his skill by shooting it off in the cabin ; " yet, by 
God's mercy, no harm was done ! " 

38. Midwinter, and provisions low. Seven already 
buried in the ocean. Sickness setting in with more sever- 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 213 

itv, women and children to be somehow cared for, two 
tiny babies to be shielded from all harm, their only home 
the inhospitable shore. No time to lose ! The 16th they 
began to build the first house, and so was planted Plymouth. 

39. In that dead winter time sprang Plymouth. Cold 
for the seed of the Mayflower, but Mayflower's seed did 
not easily die. The houses went up, one after another, 
and as it became possible the company on the ship were 
transferred to the land. The ship, indeed, became more 
and more undesirable : sickness prevailed ; the sailors did 
not escape, but dragged about or tossed in their beds in 
fierce impatience, and, of the Puritans, half their num- 
ber died before the end of March. Elder Brewster and 
strong Miles Standish, with half-a-dozen others who were 
left in health, toiled night and day, cooking, building 
fires, making beds, washing clothes, adapting their mas- 
culine hands to women's ofiices as they dressed and un- 
dressed the feverish patients, cared for the babies whose 
mothers lay ill, heard the children say their prayers. Ah, 
Miles Standish, rough captain, nowhere do you stand out 
braver than against that background! And Rose, thy 
wife. Pose Standish too must die, ere ever she comes to 
the home on the shore. 

40. The winter wears on. The Indians come to in- 
vestigate, later to treat with the English. Since there 
are few well enough to build, the little settlement, snow- 
bound between the ocean and the forest, grows but slowly. 
Sometimes deaths come twice and thrice in a day, and 
the whole scene is a funeral and the ocean one black 
grave. Yet they bear it all patiently, silently : it is the 
hand of the Lord. Priscilla MuUins sees her father, her 
mother, her brother, buried in the heartless sea, and 
stands in the E'ew World alone. " God is our refuge and 
strength, a very present help in trouble." Priscilla can 



214 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

bear it as a brave woman will, and, later, iinds protection 
in tlie strong arms of John Alden. Mr. Winslow watches 
the waves close over the form of his wife. " Mj life is 
spent with sorrow and my years with sighing, . . . but I 
trusted in thee, O Lord ; my times are in thy hand." He 
can bear it as a brave man can, and not many months 
after finds comfort in taking to himself the widow of Mr. 
White ; the two knit together by common sorrow and dan- 
ger. Elizabeth Tilley loses father and mother. John 
E-igdale and Alice, his wife, die together. Thomas 
Tinker, w^ife, and child, all die there in the ship. And 
the north, wind beat the sea and blew through the bare 
trees. Desolate, desolate welcome ! " From the end of 
the earth will I cry unto thee, wben my heart is over- 
whelmed: lead me to the reck that is higher than I. The. 
rock of my strength and my refuge is in God." They 
could bear it and be brave ; and they did, until God sent 
the spring with new health for his people. 

41. Warmer shines the sun, and April comes. All 
the people — all whom death has left — are in the houses 
now, and the Mayflower is ready for the home voyage. 
They gather at the shore to see the last of her, and send 
last messages back to the dear home land. Back goes 
the ship, straight to Old England ; yet, with that fearful 
winter freezing in their memories, scarce fifty of them 
left to found the lonely settlement, weak yet and worn, 
not one returns to the easier life at home. The May- 
flower disappears on the eastern horizon ; the last watcher 
by the shore is satisfied that she is gone ; and then alone, 
self-governed, self-dependent, free, the sea and wilderness 
circling close about them, God their Father watching 
overhead, the Puritans take up their stern life, and in 
America create New England, 

Ellen Coit Brovm. 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA, 215 



LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS; 



42. The breaking waves dashed high 

On a stern and rock-bound coast, 
And the woods, against a stormj skj, 
Their o-iant branches tossed. 



» 



43. And the heavy night hung dark 
The woods and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 
On the wild New^ Eno^land shoreo 



'ft' 



44. IS'ot as the conqueror comes, 

They, the true-hearted, came ; 
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 
And the trumpet that speaks of fame ; 

45. [N^ot as the flying come. 

In silence and in fear — 
They shook the depths of the desert's gloom 
With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

46. Amidst the storm they sang ; 

And the stars heard, and the sea ; 
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
To the anthem of the free ! 

47. The ocean eagle soared 

From his nest by the white wave's foam. 
And the rocking pines of the forest roared — 
This was their welcome home. 

Mrs. Hemans. 
10 




Landing of the Pilgrims. 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 217 

THE PILGRiM FATHERS. 

48. Behold ! they come — those sainted forms, 
Unshaken through the strife of storms ; 
Heaven's winter cloud hangs coldly down, 
And earth puts on its rudest frown ; 
But colder, ruder, was the hand 
That drove them from their own fair land ; 

Their own fair land — Refinement's chosen seat. 

Art's trophied dwelling, Learning's green retreat ; 

By Yalor guarded and by Victory crowned, 

For all but gentle Charity reno\7ned. 

49. With streaming eye, yet steadfast heart, 
Even from that land they dared to part, 

And burst each tender tie ; 
Haunts, where their sunny youth was passed, 
Homes, where they fondly hoped at last 

In peaceful age to die. 
Friends, kindred, comfort, all they spurned. 

Their fathers' hallowed graves. 
And to a world of darkness turned. 

Beyond a world of waves. 

50. When Israel's race from bondage fled. 
Signs from on high the wanderers led ; 
But here — Heaven hung no symbol here, 
Their steps to guide, their souls to cheer ; 
They saw, through sorrow's lengthening night, 
JSTaught but the fagot's guilty light ; 

The cloud they gazed at was the smoke. 
Kor power above, nor power below. 
Sustained them in their hour of woe ; 
A fearful path they trod, 



218 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

And dared a fearful doom ; 
To build an altar to their God, 
And find a quiet tomb. 

51. Yet, strong in weakness, there thej stand 

On yonder ice-bound rock, 
Stern and resolved, that faithful band, 

To meet Fate's rudest shock. 
Though anguish rends the father^s breast, 
For them, his dearest and his best, 

"With him the waste who trod — 
Though tears that freeze the mother sheds 
Upon her children's houseless heads — 

The Christian turns to God, 

52. In grateful adoration now 
Upon the barren sands they bow. 

What tongue of joy e'er woke such prayer 
As bursts in desolation there V 
What arm of strength e'er wrought such power 
As waits to crown that feeble hour ? 

When into life an infant empire springs, 
There falls the iron from the soul, 
There Liberty's young accents roll 

Up to the King of kings ! 

53. Spread out earth's holiest record here, 
Of days and deeds to reverence dear ; 

A zeal like this, what pious legends tell? 

On kingdoms built 

In blood and guilt. 
The worshipers of vulgar triumph dwell i 
But what exploit with them shall page 

Who rose to bless their kind — 



FREEDOM'S VOYAGE TO AMERICA. 219 

Who left their nation and their age 
Man's spirit to unbind ? 
Who boundless seas passed o'er, 
And boldly met in every path, 
Famine, and frost, and heathen wrath. 
To dedicate a shore 
Where Piety's meek train might breathe their vow. 
And seek their Maker with an unshamed brow ; 
Where Liberty's glad race might come. 
And set up there an everlasting home ! 

Charles Sprague. 



CHAPTER IX, 
PL ASSET; AJYD HOW AJY EMPIRE WAS WOJf. 

1. India, tlie great peninsula stretching from the Him- 
alayas to Cape Comorin, is nearly haK as large as Europe, 
and contains a population of 150,000,000. Myth and 
tradition claim for this people a very great antiquity, and 
there are many evidences that in arts, government, and 
literature, India is at least coeval with China and Egypt, 
the three constituting the most ancient civilizations of the 
world. While Western Europe was stiU the abode of 
barbarians, and while even Greece had scarcely felt the 
impulse which aroused her to intellectual life, the 
fabrics of India had reached a marvelous degree of fine- 
ness and beauty ; and the monarchs of the West counted 
it a great privilege to be clothed in the '* purple and fine 
linen " of the Orient. 

EARLY HISTORY. 

2. The early history of India seems a confused tangle 
of strifes and contentions between different nations and 
races for the possession of this region, inexpressibly rich 
in all that makes a land desirable for the occupation of 
man, and of wars between local rulers striving for domin- 
ion. In the midst of this confusion, however, there seems 
to be'good evidence that the early civilization made its 



PLA88EY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON. 221 

iirst appearance in the valleys of the Upper Indus ; that 
all iavasions, until recent times, were from the fierce 
tribes of the table-lands to the northwest ; that the in- 
dustrious people of the valleys were driven from their 
homes by successive incursions of barbarians, extending 
through many centuries ; that each horde, becoming par- 
tially civilized, was in turn driven forward ; and that the 
migrations were continuous from the north to the south. 
Thus it happens that at present the population of India 
consists of at least thirty distinct nationalities, and that 
the aboriginal possessors of the Yale of Cashmere have 
been driven forward, until now they are found only upon 
the summits of the l^eilgherry Mountains, in the extreme 
southern part of the peninsula. 

THE MOGUL EMPIRE. 

3. The Brahminical religion has prevailed in India 
from the earliest period. The first literary productions of 
the people are the Yedas, the sacred books of the Brah- 
mins. This religion is tolerant and inclusive. Its pan- 
theon recognizes so many gods that each barbarous tribe 
from the North found their own deity represented, so that 
their crude religious notions readily merged in the more 
complicated system of the peoj)le they had conquered. 
The great Buddhistic reform spent its force, and, although 
triumphant in other lands, it left but little impress in 
India where it originated. The whole people believed 
the Brahminical creed and practiced the Brahminical pre^ 
cepts. It was a religion that included the purest ab- 
stractions and the grossest form of idolatry. While ab- 
sorbing all other creeds, it never sought to make converts 
to its own. 

4. The later incursions from the northwest were es- 



222 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

sentiallj different from their predecessors. The tribes of 
the table-lands had been converted to the fanatical and 
proselyting faith of Mohammed. Abont the middle of 
the sixteenth century, a Mongol tribe, strong and stalwart 
from late successful wars, and full of the fierce zeal of 
recent converts to Moslem! sm, appeared at the northern 
gate of India, and in a short time overspread the coun- 
try and established the Mogul Empire, with its capital at 
Delhi. The stern conquerors never rested until they had 
firmly established their authority over the whole coun- 
try. 

5. The first great Sultan, Baber, had a genius for gov- 
ernment. He was firm and temperate in his administra- 
tion, and he protected the common people from the worst 
rapacity of their former rulers. Out of the chaos of 
native rule he evoked something like civilized order, and 
he established the Mogul Empire upon the foundation of 
a higher form of justice than had ever before been prac- 
ticed in the East. After a reign of fifty years, this great 
monarch died in 1605, two years before the adventurous 
John Smith set foot upon the territory of Virginia. 

6. For another hundred years, the Mogul Emperors, 
descendants of Baber, held firm possession of India, and 
in that time the country reached the height of its p6wer 
in wealth and influence. Temples and palaces, in rich- 
ness and beauty surpassing the most gorgeous dreams of 
western-bred people, arose on every side. Arts flourished 
as never before, and the commerce of India overland to 
the West was so great that large cities sprung up along its 
track, solely supported by the trading caravans. The 
gold from all the nations toward the setting sun was 
drained to pay for Indian fabrics, and India became the 
richest country of the world. 

7. In the beginning of the eighteenth century the 



PLASSEY; AND HOW AW EMPIRE WAS WON. 223 

Mogul Empire began to decline. Weak and effeminate 
monarchs occupied the throne of Baber and Shah Jehan. 
The governors of great provinces, while ruling under the 
name of the Mogul, became really independent, and in 
turn sub-provinces revolted and set up an independent 
rule. From 1700 to 1750, the whole country was ablaze 
with civil war. Rapacious chieftains plundered the peo- 
ple, the arts declined, industry of all kinds languished, 
and the country upon which ^N'ature had lavished her 
richest blessings seemed to be surrendered hopelessly to 
oppression and misrule. 

EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA. 

8. During the last century of the Mogul rule, and the 
following half century of anarchy, a new element entered 
into the affairs of India, which was destined to effect 
great and revolutionary changes. Following the wake of 
Yasco da Gam a, the maritime powers of Western Europe 
all entered into a trade with India by the way of the Cape 
of Good Hope. The long caravan route through Central 
Asia was abandoned, and ships of the sea took the place 
of ships of the desert. Lisbon, Amsterdam, and London 
absorbed the trade which had made Bagdad, Aleppo, and 
Bassorah opulent, and these renowned cities of Haroun al- 
Rashid speedily declined in wealth, power, and influence. 
The Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English entered into 
eager competition to secure the trade of India by the new 
route, and, to facilitate commercial operations, stations 
called factories were established along the coast. By the 
consent of the native princes, these factories and a small 
territory adjacent were under the exclusive civil control 
of the people occupying them. 

9. For a hundred and fifty years these factories re- 




\ ^f^yitw-iSp 



PLASSEY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON. 225 

mained mere trading stations, taking no part in the gen- 
eral political affairs of the country. While trade was 
active, and the profits great, the East India Companies 
who controlled the factories were content ; and, while the 
annual tribute or rent was paid with regularity, the na- 
tive princes had a strong motive for protecting the trad- 
ing companies in their operations. But the display of 
barbaric splendor excited the cupidity of many of the 
agents of the companies, and the atrocities of barbaric 
tyranny aroused the indignation of others, and there came 
a time when interference in native affairs seemed both 
natural and proper. 

10. The time of the new departure in policy was 
about the middle of the eighteenth century ; the place, 
the southeast coast; and the occasion, the civil wars 
which grew out of disputed succession. The student of 
history linds it difficult to understand fully the political 
situation at the time. One of the most powerful of all 
the provinces of the Mogul Empire was " The Deccan," 
which extended its sway over all of Southern India. The 
ruler, known as the " JSTizam," administered the govern- 
ment in the name of the Mogul, but in reality he was in- 
dependent, and a true Eastern despot. The chief prov- 
ince of the Deccan was " The Camatic," which embraced 
all the territory along the eastern coast. The sovereign 
of this region, called the '' ^N^abob," while paying a nomi- 
nal tribute to the Nizam, was really independent, raising 
revenue, waging wars, and forming alliances without ref- 
erence to either the government of the Deccan or that of 
the Mogul Empire. 

11. To add to the general confusion, bands of Mah- 
rattas, in numbers forming large armies, were constantly 
roaming through the country^ and levying contributions 
on both the governments and the people. This peculiar 



226 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

race was at first a mere band of robbers, which descended 
from the western mountains of India, but by repeated 
conquests, and by accessions from the wild and turbulent 
classes of all parts of the country, they had become a 
great power, and ruled in many fertile provinces. " In 
becoming sovereigns, they did not cease to be freebooters. 
Every region which was not subject to their rule was 
wasted by their incursions. Whenever their kettle-drums 
were heard, the peasant threw his bag of rice on his 
shoulder, hid his small savings in his girdle, and fled with 
his wife and children to the mountains or the jungles, to 
the milder neighborhood of the hyena and the tiger." 

DUPLEIX AND FRENCH POLICY. 

12. At this time the two principal factories on the 
east coast of India were the British station at Fort St. 
George, now Madras, and the French station at Pondi- 
cherry, eighty miles farther south. The first man who 
seems to have entertained definite notions about building 
up a European sovereignty upon the ruins of the Mogul 
Empire was Dupleix, the French Governor at Pondi- 
cherry. His long residence in the East had given him a 
knowledge of Indian affairs that few Europeans possessed. 
" His restless, capacious, and inventive mind," says Macau- 
lay, '' had formed this scheme at a time when the oldest 
servants of the English Company were busied only about 
invoices and bills of lading. Nor had he only proposed 
for himself the end. He had also a just and distinct 
view of the means by which it was to be attained. 

13. " He clearly saw that the greatest force which 
the princes of India could bring into the field would be 
no match for the small body of men trained in the disci- 
pline and guided by the tactics of the West. He saw, 



PLAS8EY; AND HO W AJST EMPIRE WAS WON. 227 

also, that the natives of India might, under European 
commanders, be formed into armies such as Saxe or 
Frederick would be proud to command. He was per- 
fectly aware that the most easy and convenient way in 
which a European adventurer could exercise sovereignty 
in India was to govern the motions, and speak through 
the mouth, of some glittering puppet dignified by the 
title of JN^abob or Nizam. The arts, both of war and 
pblicy, which a few years later were employed with such 
signal success by the English, were first understood and 
practiced by this ingenious and aspiring Frenchman." 

14. In 1748 the Mzam of the Deccan died. Two 
claimants for the throne appeared in the persons of Nazir 
Jung, son of the old Nizam, and Mirzapha Jung, a grand- 
son. About the same time an adventurer, Chunda Sahib, 
set up a claim for the throne of the Carnatic against 
Anaverdy Khan, the reigning prince. Here was the op- 
portunity for Dupleix to carry his long-cherished plans 
into execution. He espoused the cause of Chunda Sahib 
in the Carnatic, and sent four hundred French soldiers to 
his assistance. A battle was fought and Anaverdy Khan 
was killed. His son Mohammed Ali fled with a scanty 
remnant of his army to Trichinopoly, and nearly all the 
Carnatic submitted to the conqueror. 

15. Next Dupleix lent his French soldiers to Mirza- 
pha Jung, who in a short time became master of the Dec- 
can. The new sovereigns showered wealth and favors 
upon the successful Frenchman. He was declared gov- 
ernor of a territory in India as large as all France, with 
a population of 50,000,000 people. He was placed in 
command of the largest military force of the country. 
He was presented with a million dollars in money and 
many valuable jewels. Neither the Nizam nor the Na- 
bob concluded any affairs of moment without his advice 



228 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

and consent. He was, in fact, invested with sovereign 
powers, and French influence in Southern India was para- 
mount and seemingly firmly established. 

16. The triumph of the French arms carried conster- 
nation to the British factory at St. George. Unless the 
victorious career of Dupleix could be stayed, not only 
would British influence be destroyed, but the very exist- 
ence of tlieir trading posts would soon be at an end. At 
this time the government of St. George was feeble. The 
military ofiicers in command were without experience. 
Everything betokened speedy and irretrievable ruin. In 
this emergency the valor and genius of an obscure Eng- 
lish youth suddenly turned the tide of fortune. 

ROBERT CLIVE AND THE SIEGE OF ARCOT. 

17. Robert Clive had gone to India in the service of 
the company as commissary to the soldiers stationed at 
Fort St. George. His duties were those of a clerk. He 
was now twenty-five years old, but had had no experience 
in military affairs. Like Dupleix, however, he seemed to 
comprehend the political situation of the country, and 
when the emergency came that called forth his powers, 
he was found to possess both military genius and pro- 
found statesmanship. He represented to the officers of 
the post that if Trichinopoly, now besieged by Chun da 
Sahib and his French allies, should surrender, Mohammed 
Ali would perish, and French influence would become 
supreme. As the distance of Trichinopoly from Fort St. 
George was so great as to preclude the possibility of 
marching directly to the assistance of their ally, he advo- 
cated the bold project of making a diversion by a sudden 
attack upon Arcot, the capital of the Camatic, and the 
favorite residence of the Nabob. His plans were ap- 



PLA88EY; AND HO W AN EMPIRE WAS WON. 229 

proved, and he was appointed commander to carry them 
into execution, 

18. "The young captain," says Macaulay, "was put 
at the head of two hundred English soldiers and three 
hundred sepoys, armed and disciplined after the English 
fashion. The weather was stormy, but Clive pushed on 
through thunder, lightning, and rain, to the gates of 
Arcot. The garrison in a panic evacuated the fort and 
the Enghsh entered it without a blow. Chve immedi- 
ately began to collect provisions, to throw up works, and 
make preparations for sustaining a siege. The garrison, 
which had fled at his approach, had now recovered from 
its dismay, and, re-enforced to the number of three thou- 
sand men, it encamped close to the town. At dead of 
night Clive marched out of the fort, attacked the camp 
by surprise, slew great numbers, dispersed the rest, and 
returned to his quarters without having lost a single 
man. 

19. "The news of the fall of Arcot soon reached 
Chunda Sahib, as he was besieging Trichinopoly. An 
army under the command of his son Eajah Sahib, num- 
bering ten thousand native troops and one hundred and 
fifty Frenchmen, was immediately dispatched to Arcot, 
and proceeded to invest the fort, which seemed quite in- 
capable of sustaining a siege. The walls were ruinous 
and the ditches dry. The garrison, reduced by casualties, 
now consisted of one hundred and fifty English soldiers 
and two hundred sepoys. The stock of provisions was 
scanty, and the commander was a youth of five and twenty, 
who had been bred a book-keeper. 

20. " During fifty days the siege went on. During 
fifty days the young captain maintained the defense with 
a firmness, vigilance, and ability which would have done 
honor to the oldest marshal in Europe. The garrison 



230 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

began to feel the pressure of hunger. At this juncture 
the sepoys came to Clive, not to complain of their scanty 
fare, but to propose that all the grain should be given to 
the Europeans, who required more nourishment than the 
natives of Asia. The thin gruel, they said, which was 
strained away from the rice, would suffice for themselves. 
The devotion of Clive'e little band equaled that of the 
Tenth Legion of Csesar, or of the Old Guard of E'apo- 
leon. 

21. " Clive looked for succor from two sources. An 
attempt made by the government at Madras to relieve 
the place failed, but there was still hope from another 
quarter. A body of six thousand Mahrattas, under a chief 
named Morari Row, had been hired to assist Mohammed 
Ali; but as the French power seemed irresistible, this 
force had hitherto remained inactive on the frontiers of 
the Carnatic. The fame of the defense of Arcot roused 
them from their torpor. Rajah Sahib learned that the 
Mahrattas were in motion. It was necessary for him to 
be expeditious. He first offered large bribes to Clive, 
and vowed that if his proposals were not accepted he 
would instantly storm the fort and put every man to the 
sword. Clive told him in reply that his father was a 
usurper and that his army was a rabble, and that he would 
do well to think twice before he sent such poltroons into a 
breach defended by English soldiers. 

22. " Rajah Sahib determined to storm the fort. The 
day was well suited to a bold military enterprise. It was 
the great Mohammedan festival which is sacred to the 
memory of Hosein the son of Ali. The history of Islam 
contains nothing more touching than the event which 
gave rise to that solemnity. The mournful legend relates 
how the chief of the Fatimites, when all his brave followers 
had perished round him, drank his last draught of water 



PLA88EY; AFD HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WOK 231 

and uttered his latest prayer ; how the assassins carried his 
head in triumph, smote the hfeless lips with his staff, and 
how a few old men recollected with tears that they had 
seen those lips pressed to the lips of the prophet of God. 

23. " After the lapse of near twelve centuries, the re- 
currence of this solemn season excites the fiercest and 
saddest emotions in the bosoms of the devout Moslems of 
India. They work themselves up to such agonies of rage 
aud lamentation that some, it is said, have given up the 
ghost from the mere effect of mental excitement. They 
believe that whoever, during this festival, falls in arms 
against the infidels, atones by his death for all the sins of 
life, and passes at once to the Garden of the Houris. It 
was at this time that Eajah Sahib determined to assault 
Arcot. Stimulating drugs were employed to aid the 
effect of religious zeal, and the besiegers, drunk with en- 
thusiasm, drunk with bang, rushed furiously to the at- 
tack. 

24. " Olive had received secret intelligence of the de- 
sign, had made his arrangements, and, exhausted by fa- 
tigue, had thrown himself on his bed. He was awakened 
by the alarm, and was instantly at his post. The enemy 
advanced, driving before them elephants whose foreheads 
were armed with iron plates. It was expected that the 
gates would yield to the shock of these living battering- 
rams. But the huge beasts no sooner felt the English 
musket-balls than they turned round and rushed furiously 
away, trampling on the multitude which had urged them 
forward. A raft was launched on the water which filled 
one part of the ditch. Olive, perceiving that his gunners 
at that post did not understand their business, took the 
management of a piece of artillery himself, and cleared 
the raft in a few minutes. 

25. " Where the moat was dry the assailants mounted 



232 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

with great boldness ; but they were received with a fire 
so heavy and so well directed that it soon quelled the 
courage even of fanaticism and intoxication. The rear 
ranks of the English kept the front ranks supplied with 
a constant succession of loaded muskets, and every shot 
told on the living mass below. After three desperate 
onsets, the besiegers retired behind the ditcli. 

26. " The struggle lasted about an hour. Four hun- 
dred of the assailants fell. The garrison lost only five or 
six men. The besieged passed an anxious night, looking 
for a renewal of the attack. But when day broke the 
enemy were no more to be seen. They had retired, leav- 
ing the English several guns and a large quantity of 
ammunition. 

27. "Clive immediately began oifensive operations. 
Ke-enforced by seven hundred English troops and sepoys 
from Madras, and effecting a junction with the auxiliary 
Mahratta force, he soon overran all the Northern Car- 
natic. He gained a complete victory over Rajah Saliib's 
army of five thousand natives and three hundred French- 
men. At this time Major Lawrence arrived from Eng- 
land and assumed the command. An expedition marched 
to the assistance of Mohammed Ali at Trichinopoly. The 
besiegers were defeated, and Chunda Sahib was put to 
death by the Mahrattas, into whose hands he fell. 

28. " The English were now masters of the Carnatic, 
and the French influence was broken. Steadily the 
English power was extended over the Deccan and all 
Southern India. Dupleix struggled against his fate in 
vain, no French armament came to his assistance. His 
company condemned his policy and furnished him with 
no aid. But still he persisted, bribed, intrigued, prom- 
ised, lavished his private fortune, and everywhere tried 
to raise new enemies to the government at Madras, but 



PLAS8EY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON.^'^Z 

all to no purpose. At length, when his last hope for 
empire died out, broken in fortune and spirits, he re- 
turned to his native country to die obscure and neg- 
lected. 

29. " Clive went back to England for a brief space, but 
after a year or two he returned to India as governor of 
Madras. His first service after his return was to rout 
out a nest of pirates which had for a long time maintained 
a stronghold upon the coast. He then turned his atten- 
tion to reform in the company's business, and to strength- 
ening British influence with the natives in all directions. 
Before two months had expired he received intelligence 
which called forth all the energies of his bold and active 
mind. 

THE STORY OF THE BLACK HOLE. 

30. " Of the large provinces into which the Mogul Em- 
pire was divided the wealthiest was Bengal, ^o part of 
India possessed such natural advantages, both for agri- 
culture and commerce. The Ganges, rushing through a 
hundred channels to the sea, has formed a vast plain of 
rich mold which, even under the tropical sky, rivals 
the verdure of an English April. The rice-fields yield 
an increase such as is elsewhere unknown. Spices, sugar, 
vegetable oils are produced with marvelous exuberance. 
The rivers afford an inexhaustible supply of fish. The 
desolate islands along the sea-coast, overgrown with nox- 
ious vegetation and swarming with deer and tigers, sup- 
ply the cultivated districts with salt. The great stream 
which fertilizes the soil is at the same time the chief 
highway of Eastern commerce. On its banks, and on 
those of its tributary waters, are the wealthiest marts, the 
most splendid capitals, and the most sacred shrines of 
India. In numbers its inhabitants exceed 60,000,000; 



234 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

a population greater than that of England and France 
combined. 

31. " The race by which this rich tract was peopled, 
enervated by a soft climate and accustomed to peaceful 
employments, bore the same relation to other Asiatics 
which the Asiatics generally bear to the bold and ener- 
getic children of Europe. Whatever the Bengalee does, 
he does languidly. His favorite pursuits are sedentary. 
He shrinks from bodily exertion, and, though voluble in 
dispute and able in the war of chicane, he seldom en- 
gages in a personal conflict, and scarcely ever enlists as a 
soldier. There never, perhaps, existed a people so thor- 
oughly fitted by nature and by habit for a foreign yoke. 

32. " The great commercial companies of Europe had 
long possessed factories in Bengal. The French, the 
Dutch, and the English had stations on the Hoogly, the 
chief branch of the Ganges. Of these the English Fort 
William, on the site of the present city of Calcutta, was 
nearest the sea. A church and ample warehouses rose in 
the vicinity, a row of spacious houses, belonging to the 
chief ofiicers of the East India Company, lined the banks 
of the river, and in the neighborhood had sprung up a 
large and busy native town. For the ground on which 
the settlement stood, the English paid rent to the govern- 
ment, and were permitted to have practical control of 
their own domain. 

33. " The province of Bengal had long been governed 
by a viceroy of the Mogul, who had become practically 
independent. In 1756 the sovereignty descended to a 
youth under twenty years of age, who bore the name of 
Surajah Dowlah. Oriental despots are perhaps the worst 
class of human beings, and this unhappy boy was one of 
the worst specimens of his class. His understanding was 
naturally feeble, and his temper unamiable. His educa- 



PLA8SEY; ANB HOW AN EMPIRE WAS F<9iV: 235 

tion had been such as would have enervated even a vigor- 
ous intellect, and perverted even a generous disposition. 
He was unreasonable, because nobody ever dared to reason 
with him, and selfish, because he had never been made to 
feel himself dependent on the good will of others. 

34. " Early debauchery had unnerved his body and his 
mind. He indulged immoderately in the use of ardent 
spirits, which inflamed his weak brain almost to madness. 
His chosen companions were flatterers sprung from the 
dregs of the people. It is said that he had arrived at the 
last stage of human depravity, when cruelty becomes 
pleasing for its own sake, when the sight of pain as pain is 
an agreeable excitement. It had early been his amuse- 
ment to torture beasts and birds, and when he grew up he 
enjoyed with still greater relish the misery of his fellow- 
creatures. 

35. " From a child Surajah Dowlah had hated the 
English. It was his whim to do so ; and his whims were 
never opposed. He had formed a very exaggerated no- 
tion of the wealth which might be obtained by plunder- 
ing them, and his feeble mind could not perceive that 
the riches of Calcutta, however great, could not compen- 
sate him for what he must lose if the European trade 
should be driven by his violence to some other quarter. 
Pretexts for a quarrel were readily found, and Surajah 
Dowlah marched with a great army against Fort William. 

36. " The servants of the company at Madras had 
been forced to become statesmen and soldiers. Those in 
Bengal were still mere traders, and were in no condition 
to defend themselves against the formidable attack. The 
fort was taken, after a feeble resistance, and nearly the 
whole English population fell into the hands of the con- 
queror. A few, including the governor, had saved them- 
selves by taking refuge in the ships. The Nabob seated 



236 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

himself with regal pomp in the principal hall of the 
factory and ordered Mr. Holwell, the first in rank among 
the prisoners, to be brought before him. His Highness 
talked abont the insolence of the English, and grumbled 
at the smallness of the treasure he had found ; but he 
promised to spare their lives, and retired to rest. 

37. "Then was committed that great crime, memora- 
ble for its singular atrocity, memorable for the terrible 
retribution by which it was followed. The English cap- 
tives were left to the mercy of the guards, and the guards 
determined to secure them for the night in the prison of 
the garrison, a chamber known by the fearful name of 
the Black Hole. The space was only twenty feet square. 
The air-holes were small and obstructed. It was the 
summer solstice, the season when the fierce heat of Ben- 
gal can scarcely be rendered tolerable to natives of Eng- 
land by lofty hills and by the constant waving of fans. 

38. " The number of prisoners was one hundred and 
forty-six, and they were driven into the cell at the point 
of the sword. They cried for mercy. They strove to 
burst the door. Holwell offered large bribes to the jail- 
ers ; but the answer was that nothing could be done with- 
out the l^abob's orders, and that the l^abob was asleep 
and would be angry if anybody waked him. Then the 
prisoners went mad with despair, and fought for places 
near the windows where they might obtain air. The 
jailers in the mean time held lights at the bars and shouted 
with laughter at the frantic struggles of their victims. 

39. " At length the tumult died away in low gaspings 
and moanings. The day broke. The I^abob had slept off 
his debauch, and permitted the door to be opened. 
Twenty-three ghastly figures staggered out of the charnel- 
house, one hundred and twenty-three bodies were hastily 
thrown into a pit and covered up, and the Black Hole of 



PLA8SEY; AND HOW AR EMPIRE WAS WOX.^^"; 

Calcutta lias gone into history as a synonym for all that is 
dreadful and all that is possible in human suffering. 

40. " The horror which daylight revealed awakened 
neither pity nor remorse in the bosom of the savage ]^a- 
bob. He inflicted no punishment on the mnrderers. He 
showed no tenderness to the survivors. He sent letters 
to the Court of Delhi, describing his conquest in most 
pompous language. He placed a garrison at Fort William, 
and forbade Englishmen to dwell in the neighborhood. 

CLIVE IN BENGAL. 

41. '' In August the news of the fall of Calcutta 
reached Madras, and excited the fiercest and bitterest 
resentment. The cry of the whole settlement was for 
vengeance. Within forty-eight hours after the arrival of 
the intelligence it was determined that an expedition 
should be sent to the Hoogly, and that Clive should be at 
the head of the land forces. The naval armament was 
under the command of Admiral Watson, l^ine hundred 
English infantry and fifteen hundred Sepoys sailed to 
punish a prince who ruled over 60,000,000 of peo];)le. 
In October the expedition sailed ; but it had to make its 
way against adverse winds, and did not reach Bengal until 
December. 

42. " In the mean time the Surajah Dowlah was revel- 
ing in fancied security. He was so ignorant of the state 
of foreign countries that he often used to say that there 
were not ten thousand men in all Europe, and it never oc- 
curred to him that it was possible that the English would 
dare to invade his dominions. But while in no fear of 
the Enghsh, he began to miss them greatly. His revenues 
fell off, and his ministers at length made him understand 
that it was more profitable to protect traders than to 



238 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

plunder them. He was disposed to permit the company 
to resume their operations when he heard of the arrival 
of Clive in the Hooglj. He instantly marched with his 
troops toward Calcutta. 

43. " Clive commenced operations with his usual vigor. 
He routed the garrison at Fort William, recovered Cal- 
cutta, and stormed and sacked the Nabob's stations along 
the river. The ^N^abob, alarmed at this proof of power 
and spirit, made overtures of peace. He offered to restore 
the factory, and to give compensation to those whom he 
had despoiled. 

44. " Clive, considering the disparity of his force and 
the uncertainty of war, consented to negotiate. The 
terms which he demanded were those which guaranteed 
much greater power to the English than they ever had 
before. His manner was cool and determined, as though 
conscious of possessing power sufficient to enforce his de- 
mands. The J^abpb behaved with all the faithlessness 
of an Indian statesman and with all the levity of a boy. 
He promised, retracted, hesitated, evaded. At one time he 
advanced with his army in a threatening manner toward 
Calcutta, but when he saw the resolute front which the 
English presented, he fell back in alarm, and consented 
to make peace on their own terms. 

45. " The treaty was no sooner concluded than he 
formed new designs against them. He intrigued with 
the French upon the Hoogly. He invited the French 
force in the Deccan to come and drive the English out 
of Bengal. All this was well known to Clive and Wat- 
son. They resolved to rid themselves of one source of dan- 
ger before the ^Nabob's plans were consummated. They 
attacked the French factory upon the Hoogly. Watson 
directed the expedition by water, and Clive by land. 
Their success was rapid and complete. The fort, the 



PLAS8EY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WOK 239 

garrison, tlie artillery, the military stores, all fell into the 
hands of the English. Fresh from this victory Clive re- 
turned to his negotiations with the Surajah Dowlah. 

46. "The Nabob was confounded by this sudden 
movement and the destruction of the French power. 
He regarded the English with still greater fear and still 
greater hatred. He oscillated between servility and inso- 
lence. One day he sent a large sum to Calcutta, as part 
of the compensation due for the wrongs he had com- 
mitted. The next day he sent valuable jewels to Bussy, 
the French commander in the Deccan, imploring that 
officer to hasten and protect Bengal against Olive, whom 
' may all bad fortune attend.' He ordered his army to 
march against the English. He countermanded his orders. 
He tore Olive's letters. He sent answers in the most 
florid language of compliment. He threatened to impale 
Mr. Watts, the English agent. He sent for Mr. Watts 
and begged pardon for the insult. 

47. " In the mean time his folly, his vices, his disso- 
lute manners, and his love of low company disgusted all 
classes of his own subjects, and a formidable conspiracy 
was formed against him in his own capital. The conspira- 
tors entered into negotiation with Olive, and he agreed 
to place Meer Jaffier, the head of the movement, upon the 
throne of Bengal. In his diplomacy Olive seems to have 
laid aside his character as a bluff soldier, and to have 
taken lessons from his wily and treacherous Indian foes. 
He intrigued and deceived until the last moment, when 
the conspiracy was ripe and his army ready. 

48. " The moment for action came. Mr. Watts, the 
English agent, secretly fled and took refuge in Calcutta. 
Olive put his troops in motion, and wrote to the Nabob a 
letter in which he set forth the English wrongs, and con- 
cluded by saying that, as the rains were about to set in, 

11 



240 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

lie and liis men would do themselves the honor of waiting 
upon his Highness for an answer. 

49. " Surajah Dowlah instantly assembled his whole 
force and marched to encounter the English. It had 
been arranged that Meer Jaffier should separate himself 
from the Nabob, aiid carry over his division to Clive. 
But as the decisive moment approached, the fears of the 
conspirator overcame his ambition. Clive advanced to the 
river which separated him from his foe. The J^abob lay 
with a mighty power a few miles off at Plassey. Meer 
Jaffier delayed, and returned evasive answers to the re- 
monstrances of the English general. 

THE BATTLE AND ITS RESULTS. 

60. " Clive was in an anxious and painful situation. 
He could place no confidence in the sincerity or the 
courage of his confederate ; and whatever confidence he 
might have in his own military talents, and in the valor 
and discipline of his troops, it was no light thing to engage 
an army twenty times as numerous as his own. Before 
him lay a river over which it was easy to advance, but 
over which, if things went ill, not one of his little band 
would return. 

51. " On this occasion, for the first and for the last 
time, his dauntless spirit, during a few hours, shrank from 
the fearful responsibility of making a decision. He called 
a council of war. The majority pronounced against fight- 
ing, and Clive declared his concurrence with the majority. 
Long afterward he said that he had never called but one 
council of war, and that if he had taken their advice the 
British would never have been masters of Bengal. But 
scarcely had the meeting broke up than he was himself 
again. He retired alone under the shade of some trees, 



PL ASSET; AND HOW AN EMPIEE WAS WON. 24:1 

and passed an hour there in thought. He came back 
determined to take the risk, and gave orders that all 
should be in readiness for passing the riVer on the morrow. 

52. "The river v^as passed; and, at the close of a 
toilsome day's march, the army, long after sunset, took up 
its quarters in a grove of mango-trees near Plassey, within 
a mile of the enemy. Clive was unable to sleep; he 
heard through the night the sonnd of drums and cym- 
bals from the vast camp of the ISTabob. It is not strange 
that even his stout heart should now and then have sunk, 
when he reflected against what odds, and for what a prize, 
he was in a few hours to contend. 

53. " E"or was the rest of Surajah Dowlah more peace- 
ful. His mind, at once weak and stormy, was distracted by 
wild and horrible apprehensions. Appalled by the great- 
ness and nearness of the crisis, distrusting his captains, 
dreading every one who approached him, dreading to be 
left alone, he sat gloomily in his tent, haunted, a Greek 
poet would have said, by the Furies of those who had 
cursed him with their last breath in the Black Hole. 

64. " The day broke — the day which was to decide the 
fate of India. At sunrise the army of the E'abob, pour- 
ing through many openings of the camp, began to move 
toward the grove where the English lay. Forty thousand 
infantry, armed with firelocks, pikes, swords, bows and 
arrows, covered the plain. They were accompanied by 
fifty pieces of ordnance of the largest size, each tugged 
by a long team of white oxen, and each pushed on from 
behind by an elephant. Some smaller guns, under the 
direction of French soldiers, were perhaps more formi- 
dable. 

55. " The cavalry were fifteen thousand, drawn from 
the bolder races which inhabit the northern provinces ; 
and the practiced eye of Clive could perceive that the 



242 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

men and liorses were more powerful than those of the 
Carnatic. The force opposed to this great multitude con- 
sisted of only three thousand men ; but of these, nearly 
one thousand were English, and all were led by English 
officers and trained in the English discipline. 

56. " The battle commenced with a cannonade, in 
which the artillery of the ISTabob did scarcely any execu- 
tion, while the field-pieces of the English produced great 
effect. Several officers in Surajah Dowlah's service fell. 
Disorder began to spread through his ranks. His own 
terror increased every moment. One of the conspirators 
advised him to retreat. This advice, agreeing as it did 
with what his own terrors suggested, was readily re- 
ceived. He ordered his army to fall back, and this order 
decided his fate. Olive snatched the moment, and ordered 
his troops to advance. 

57. " The confused and dispirited multitude gave 
way before the onset of disciplined valor. No mob at- 
tacked by regular soldiers was ever more completely 
routed. The little band of Frenchmen, who alone vent- 
ured to confront the English, were swept down the 
stream of the fugitives. In an hour the forces of Sura- 
jah Dowlah were dispersed, never to re-assemble. Only 
five hundred of the vanquished were slain ; but their 
camp, their guns, their baggage, innumerable wagons, 
innumerable cattle, remained in the power of the con- 
queror. With a loss of twenty-two soldiers killed and 
fifty wounded, Olive had scattered an army of sixty 
thousand men, and had subdued an empire larger and 
more populous than Oreat Britain," 

58. This brilliant success of Olive added Plassey as one 
of the battle-fields of the world which has shaped national 
destinies and decided the fate of millions of people. 
Though much was yet to be done before the fruits of 



PLA8SEY; AND HOW AN EMPIRE WAS WON. 2^Z 

victory could be fully realized, Clive at once became 
almost supreme in autliority. Snrajah Dowlali fled in 
disguise, and disappeared from history in complete ob- 
scurity. Meer Jafiier held Clive in slavish awe. He once 
reproved a native of high rank for some trouble with the 
company's Sepoys. "Are you yet to learn," he said, 
" who Colonel Chve is, and in what station God has 
placed him ? " The answer was : '' I affront the colonel I 
I who never get up in the morning without making three 
low bows to his jackass ! " 

59. The policy inaugurated by Clive was continued 
by his successors. The British rule was extended by set- 
ting up native princes, or setting them aside, as expedi- 
ency dictated, until the whole vast region south of the 
Himalayas passed under their control. The weak trading 
companies of 1T55 have blossomed out into an empire. 

60. British India to-day, in extent of territory and in 
absolute safety, is immeasurably greater than that of the 
Moguls in the height of their glory. The first wild exer- 
cise of irresponsible power has been corrected, and gov- 
ernmental affairs under British rule are now administered 
on the foundation of substantial justice. The peasant no 
longer flies from governmental officers to the more merci- 
ful companionship of the cobra and tiger, and all who toil 
find protection as never before. The races of the Orient 
have been brought face to face with the arts and sciences 
of the West, and untold millions have cause to bless the 
day when Robert Clive was forced to close the ledger 
and take up the sword. 



CHAPTER X. 
LEXIKGTOK AMD BUJfKER HILL. 

1. The Pilgrims had passed away. Long years had 
elapsed since the last of the JS'ew England fathers had 
exchanged the earthly for the heavenly kingdom. The 
grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of the first 
immigrants possessed the soil, l^o aliens they, seeking 
a refnge in an unknown land, bnt the sturdy possessors 
of homes where they were born, and around which clus- 
tered all tender family ties. The passionate love for 
England, filtered through three generations, had moder- 
ated to a fihal respect without impairing filial obedience. 

2. Marvelous the change in outward conditions of 
that century and a half ! Wave after wave of intelligent 
activity had passed over the land. Settlers' fires hunted 
the track of Indians westward bound. On the site of pri- 
meval forests, fields of grain shimmered in the sun. The 
rude hut, hastily built for shelter, had given place to the 
comfortable farm-house and the elegant mansion. Vil- 
lage and city had grown up in the centers of trade. The 
mechanic arts had slowly made their way. Change vast, 
weighty, permanent — not sudden, but orderly growth — 
fruit of seed sown, but none the less marvelous for that. 

3. Internal change had accompanied the external. 
Spiritual growth had gone hand in hand with increase of 
life's comforts. Persecution as a means of conversion had 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 245 

disappeared before comioon dangers and sufferings. In- 
tolerance had toned down into a mild form of bigotry. 
The shovel-hat of the parson and the flowing robes of the 
magistrate had lost much of their superstitions signifi- 
cance. The hard, self-imposed restraints of the Puritans 
had become less rigid at home and in public. Individual 
life was freer, fuller, ani more complete. 

4. So sped the years until after the French war — until 
the last of England's rivals had been effectually subdued. 
J^ow England, for the first time, seems to have been 
brought face to face with her stardy offspring, ^ow she 
deliberately made up her mind to make him useful — pay 
her debts, fight her enemies, subserve her interests first 
and always. So, with blustering words about rights, she 
imposed burdens, with significant hints in regard to chas- 
tisements ; she withheld privileges ; the cherishing mother 
in word and deed proving to be a veritable step -mother 
with the hardest of hearts. 

5. Here trouble began. Ths son had an equal share 
with the parent in Agincourt and Magna Charta. He 
was confiding and unsuspicious, but the experience of 
three generations in the wilds had accustomed him to 
freedom, and had given him hardihood. His shoulders 
were broad, but it was difficult to bind burdens uj)on 
them against his will. As the policy of the parent 
dawned upon him, first came incredulous questioning, 
" What does this mean ? " — then protest, showing the in- 
jury and suggesting " There must be some mistake ! " — 
last, conviction of intended injustice, the hot wrath, 
and the emphatic statement, " I will not obey ! '' The 
angry note of defiance was heard rolling along the Atlan- 
tic coast from l^ew England to Georgia. Desceudants of 
Soundheads, Cavaliers, and Huguenots forgot their an- 
cient prejudices and united against this common danger. 



246 TEN' GREAT EVENTS IJSr HISTORY. 

Patrick Henry responded to the sentiments of Otis and 
Adams, and Virginia sent friendly greetings to the com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, 

6. The madness that afflicted the last years of the life 
of George III seems to have taken possession of the Brit- 
ish ministry. Exaction followed exaction in increasing 
intensity and number. The history of coercive legisla- 
tion can scarcely find a parallel to that of the British 
Parliament for the fifteen years following the fall of 
Quebec. Withal, no excuse was ever made for in jus-, 
tice done, no sympathy was ever expressed for suffering 
inflicted, but all communication conveyed the stern pur- 
pose to subdue. Hungry for affection, the half-grown 
offspring turned his face toward England for the smallest 
caress, and the east wind brought back across the Atlan- 
tic full in his face the sharp crack of a w^hip. 

7. Then came a period of aggression and resistance. 
The Stamp Act was passed, but stamps could not be sold, 
and the lives of stamp-venders became miserablco Sol- 
diers crowded citizens upon Boston Common ; citizens 
mobbed the soldiers ; soldiers fired, killing ^yq citizens, 
and were saved from destruction only by the active inter= 
ference of the patriot leaders. This affray marked the 
first shedding of blood, and has gone into history as " The 
Boston Massacre." Tea was taxed, but the matrons took 
to catnip and sage, and no tea was sold. Three cargoes 
of taxed tea were sent into Boston harbor, but a war- 
whoop was heard ; the vessels were boarded by a band of 
painted savages, tomahawk in hand ; the tea-chests were 
broken up and the tea was thrown into the water. This 
last act demanded special punishment, and the Boston 
Port Bill shut up the port of Boston, allowing no ship to 
go in or out. The sympathetic people of Salem and 
Marblehead placed wharf and warehouse at the disposal 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 247 

of Boston merchants, softening the blow as much as pos- 
sible. Relief to the suffering poor of Boston poured in 
from all sides, and the British ministry saw that the whole 
people were making common cause in resistance to op- 
pression. 

8. The next step is the vigorous use of the strong 
arm. Filial love must be forced in bj means of bayonets, 
and affection secured by gunpowder and bullets. A strong 
force of soldiers under General Gage took possession 
of Boston. The troops were quartered in the City Hall 
and other buildings sacred in the eyes of the people to 
justice and peace. The city government was superseded 
by the military. Sentinels patrolled the streets. Arbi- 
trary edicts took the place of law. Citizens were inter- 
fered with while in the pursuit of private business. For 
soldiers' insults there was no redress. The leading patri- 
ots, John Adams, Joseph Warren, James Otis, John 
Hancock, and Samuel Adams, were hunted, and a price 
was set on their heads. Boston was in the strong hands 
of military power. Outwardly it was subdued, but be- 
neath was a seething fire, ready to burst into flame when 
the moment for conflagration should arrive. 

9. But Massachusetts was aroused. Town and country 
were one. The war spirit invoked engendered its kind. 
Committees of Safety were formed in every town. The 
drum and fife echoed from mountain to valley. The 
musket of the old war, the shot-gun of the sportsman, 
and the rifle of the hunter were brought from their rest- 
ing-places and prepared for use. Forge and hammer 
were busy in making guns and swords. Minute-men in 
every hamlet prepared to march on the moment. ]^or 
were the women idle ; wheel and loom were busy as 
never before. The patriot soldier, starting for the front, 
was clad in serviceable home-spun, prepared by loving 



24:8 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

hands, and he departed amid the tears, prayers, and bless- 
ings of loving yet steadfast hearts. 

10. The General Court of Massachusetts was con- 
vened. It was denounced and proscribed by General 
Gage, but in the eyes of the people its mandates had all 
the force of law. Taxes were levied and cheerfully paid. 
The colony was divided into military districts, and each 
one placed under the command of a competent officer. 
Powder, arms, and other military stores were collected, 
and all needful preparations were made for war. The 
other ]^ew England colonies fully shared in the excite- 
ment of Massachusetts. The note of alarm spread through 
the land, and a Continental Congress was called to meet 
at Philadelphia to consider the policy best to be pursued 
for the common weal. 

11. But General Gage became impatient. He would 
strike a blow that would at once assert British power and 
terrify the whole rebel race. The mailed hand must be 
seen beneath the soft glove. The opportunity was not 
long wanting. A military depot at Concord, eighteen 
miles northwest of Boston, he determined to seize. A 
force of eight hundred men, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Smith and Major Pitcairn, was to set out on the even- 
ing of April 18th. The patriot leaders were early aware 
that some movement was on foot, and eager eyes watched 
for indications of its force and direction. But it was kept 
a profound secret, and it was not until the troops were 
upon the march that their destination could be guessed. 
Let the poet tell how the purpose was discovered and the 
news carried to the country : 



LEXINGTON' AND BUNKER HILL. 249 

PAUL REVERE'S RIDE 

12. Listen, my children, and you shall hear 
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, 
On the eighteenth of April, seventy-five. 
Hardly a man is now alive 

"Who remembers that famous day and year. 

13. He said to his friend, " K the British march 
By land or sea from the town to-night, 
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch 

In the ^orth Church tower as a signal light — 
One if by land, and tw^o if by sea ; 
And I on the opposite shore will be. 
Ready to ride and spread the alarm 
Through every Middlesex village and farm. 
For the country folk to be up and to arm." 

14. Then he said " Good night ! " and with muffled oai 
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, 

Just as the moon rose over the bay. 

Where, swinging wide at her moorings, lay 

The Somerset, British man-of-war : 

A phantom ship, w^ith each mast and spar 

Across the moon like a prison bar, 

And a huge black hulk, that was magnified 

By its own reflection in the tide. 

15. Meanwhile his friend, through alley and street, 
Watches and wanders, with eager ears. 

Till in the silence around him he hears 
The muster of men at the barrack door. 
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet, 
And the measured tread of the grenadiers. 
Marching down to their boats on the shore. 




Faul Revere's Ride, 



LEXINGTON' AND BUNKER HILL. 251 

16. TLen lie climbed the tower of tlie old l^ortli Cliurch, 
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread, 
To the belfry chamber overhead. 
And startled the pigeons from their perch 
On the somber rafters, that round him made 
Masses and moving shapes of shade ; 
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall, 
To the highest window in the wall. 
Where he paused to listen and look down 
A moment on the roofs of the town, 
And the moonlight flowing over all. 

IT. Beneath in the churchyard lay the dead, 
In their night-encampment on the hill, 
Wrapped in a silence so deep and still 
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread, 
The watchful night- wind as it went 
Creeping along from tent to tent. 
And seeming to whisper "All is well ! " 

18. A moment only he feels the spell 

Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread 
Of the lonely belfry and the dead ; 
For suddenly all his thoughts were bent 
On a shadowy som^ething far away. 
Where the river widens to meet the bay — 
A line of black that bends and floats 
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats. 

19. Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride. 
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride, 
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere. 
]^ow he patted his horse's side, 

Now gazed on the landscape far and near, 
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth. 



252 TEF GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY, 

And turned and tightened his saddle-girth ; 
But mostly he watched with eager search 
The belfry-tower of the old ^orth Church, 
As it rose above the graves on the hill, 
Lonely and spectral and somber and still. 
And lo ! as'he looks, on the beKry's height 
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light. 
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns, 
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight 
A second lamp in the belfry burns. 

20. A hurry of hoofs in the village street, 

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark. 
And beneath, from the pebbles in passing, a spark 
Struck out by a steed Hying fearless and fleet. 
That was all ! and yet, through the gloom and the 

light. 
The fate of a nation was riding that night ; 
And the spark struck out by that steed in its flight 
Kindled the land into flame with its heat. 

21. The British column moved on through the dark- 
ness with no sound save the steady tread of marching 
feet. At first, farm-house and hamlet were wrapped in 
a deep repose, but as the night wore on signs of life be- 
gan to appear. At every cross-road, horsemen galloped 
off at their approach, and hurried lights at chamber 
windows showed that slumber had been suddenly inter- 
rupted. At day -break the invading force reached Lex- 
ington, a little village twelve miles from Boston. Here 
minute-men to the number of about one hundred and 
twenty, aroused by the cry of Paul Eevere, had hast- 
ily assembled. They offered no opposition to the British 
troops, but stood silent spectators to the unusual sight. 



254 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

22. The Britisli column halted, and Major Pitcairn 
rode forward, and, in the most peremptory tone of com- 
mand, cried out : " Disperse, you rebels ? Throw down 
your arms and disperse ! " No one. obeyed, and he gave 
the order to fire. Out blazed the muskets, and what re- 
mained of the little group sought safety in flight. The 
British marched on, leaving on that peaceful common, 
under the very shadow of the church, eight figures stark 
and motionless in death. From this baptism of blood they 
moved on, regretful, perhaps, at the stern necessity of 
their action, but rejoicing that all opposition had been so 
easily and completely overcome. 

23. On they sped. The sun arose in its glory to cheer 
them on their march. Their thoughts were jubilant as in 
fancy they posed as heroes before their fellows left be- 
hind. 1^0 vision of the dead men staring upward from 
the blood-drenched grass of Lexington haunted them. 
The silent march of the night had ended, and now they 
could press onward with clatter and song. The six miles 
to Concord were soon passed over. A strong guard was 
left at the bridge, for, with all his confidence. Colonel 
Smith was a skillful commander, and would neglect no 
precaution to secure the safety of his troops. So careful 
was he that he sent back a secret messenger from Lexing- 
ton for more men. On press the exulting soldiers, on 
through the streets of Concord in search of the military 
stores. But lo ! fhey had taken wings and flown to a 
place of safety. A few barrels of flour, half destroyed, a 
few hundred cannon-balls thrown into wells, was the sole 
outcome of the intended destruction. The Committee of 
Safety had performed their duty discreetly and in time. 

24. But hark ! What means that musketry ? ISTot 
the scattering fire of a skirmish, but volley answering vol- 
ley ! Has the impossible come to pass ? Have the rebels 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 255 

dared to fire upon the king's troops ? But the firing grows 
warmer, louder. Hasten to the bridge lest retreat be cut 
off 1 The guards, sore beset, welcome the aid. Armed 
foes spring up on every side ! Thej are behind, before 
— everywhere ! No safety now but in instant, rapid retreat. 

25. " You know the rest. In the books you have read, 

How the British regulars fired and fled — 
How the farmers gave them ball for ball. 
From behind each fence and farm-yard wall ; 
Chasing the red-coats down the lane. 
Then crossing the fields, to emerge again 
Under the trees, at the bend of the road, 
And only pausing to fire and load." 

26. Discipline and valor are of no avail here. Yol- 
.lied musketry has little chance against backwoods sharp- 
shooters occupying every vantage ground that their knowl- 
edge of the country enabled them to do. The day was 
wearing on. Xoon found them a disorganized mass, fiy- 
inoj throuo^h Lexin2:ton streets, the scene of their morning: 
victory. 

27. In the mean time Lord Percy, with eight hundred 
fresh troops and two field- pieces, is marching out on the 
Lexington road ; not that any danger was apprehended, 
but simply as a precautionary measure. Between two and 
three o'clock, while yet tv/o miles short of Lexington, 
ominous sounds of conflict smote his ears : not the roll- 
ing volleys and stately tread of victory, but the confused 
noise of flght and flight, betokening irretrievable disaster. 
The fresh troops were formed into a hollow square, and 
pelbmell the hunted fugitives came rushing into their 
place of refuge. Exhausted by their long march and hot 
fight, many of them fell prone upon the ground, '' their 
tongues," says a high authority, " hanging out of their 
mouths." 



256 TEN' GREAT EVENTS IN BISTORT. 

28. But Lord Percy must not delay. Ten miles lie 
between him and safety, and many hours of day remain 
before darkness will lend its friendly aid. Short time for 
rest. Beat oU the fierce and persistent attacks ! Speed 
away while yet unsurrounded ! A British army must 
never suffer the humiliation of defeat and capture by a 
horde of rebel Yankees. So through the afternoon the 
red-coats marched quickly, sullenly, dejectedly, fighting 
desperately for very life. The day closed as they neared 
the river, and under the starlight they embarked, finding 
safety and rest at last — not quite yet, for as the last boat 
left the shore a rifle blazed out, and one more victim 
was sent to atone for the wanton murder on Lexington 
Common. 

29. The eventful day ended with a loss on the part of 
the British of two hundred and seventy-three, v»^hile the 
aggregate loss of the patriots was one hundred and ^yq. 
Without discipline, and with the most reckless exposure 
to danger, they had inflicted a loss nearly three times as 
great as they had sustained. 

30. The news of Lexington spread, everywhere pro- 
ducing wild excitement. The notes of warlike prepara- 
tion were heard throughout the land. With deliberate 
purpose General Gage had sown the dragon's teeth, and 
there literally sprung up a bountiful crop of armed men. 
Every village and every farm-house helped to swell the 
number. The remotest hamlet furnished its continsrent. 
In distant Connecticut, gallant old General Putnam heard 
the news while plowing. Prompt as when he dragged 
the wolf from its den, he unyoked his oxen, left his plow 
in the furrow, and, leaping to his saddle, galloped to the 
fray. Fiery Ethan Allen, at the head of his Green Mount- 
ain Boys, was eager to march, but paused to execute that 
marvelous enterprise which secured for the patriot cause 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 257 

tlie formidable fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 
with all their military stores. Day by day the multitude 
increased, until thirty thousand men were encamped 
around Boston, from Charlestown Neck to Dorchester. 

31. From the evening of the Lexington fight General 
Gage was shut up in Boston. The patriots kept a strict 
guard on every road, and no parties were permitted to 
pass out or provisions to pass in. All supplies for the 
town came by sea. The officers chafed under the en- 
forced inactivity. They would be done with the igno- 
ble work of defense behind fortifications. They longed 
for an opportunity to regain the prestige lost on that 
fatal nineteenth of April. But General Gage was too 
wise a commander to risk the safety of his army, so he 
held the impatience of his officers in check and awaited 
events. 

32. The patriot leaders were equally impatient. The 
enthusiasm of the moment must be turned to good ac- 
count. The men were all unused to living in camps, and 
were peculiarly exposed to camp diseases and camp vices. 
Discipline had not yet counteracted the demoralizing 
tendencies of army life. The different divisions of the 
army were ranged under favorite local leaders, and while 
there was some show of order there was little or no con- 
cert of action. It was now the middle of June. Two 
months had elapsed since Lord Percy was driven back 
into Boston. All means to lure General Gage from the 
town had failed, and an aggressive movement was de- 
vised. It was resolved to take a new position threatening 
the town and the shipping in the port. The place se- 
lected was the highland on the Charlestown peninsula 
known as Bunker Hill, and the time fixed upon for the 
enterprise the night of June 16th. 

33. Eight hundred men armed with shovels and picks 



258 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

assembled at six o'clock. The movement was known to 
be a perilous one, and every man felt that lie took bis 
life in his hand. President Langdon, of Harvard College, 
offered prayer with the ancient Puritan fervor. Colonel 
Prescott took command of the military operations and 
Colonel Gridley conducted the engineering. In early 
evening they set oat. The march was in profound 
silence. Wjth suppressed breathing and stealthy tread 
they made their way — an army of ghosts entering the 
land of shadows. But the grim faces of the officers and 
the clinched hands of the men showed more than ghostly 
purpose. About midnight the march ceased. Clear in 
the starlight they could see British ship and camp, and 
could hear the sentinel proclaim, •' All is well." A re- 
doubt eight rods square was laid out, and these eight 
hundred husbandmen bent their seasoned muscles to the 
work. The embankment grew up in the darkness, and 
at day-break its six feet of height amply protected the 
workers within. 

34. In the American camp all was excitement and 
expectation. Supporting parties were organized, supplies 
harried up, and means for re-enforcement and retreat 
provided. It was now that the fatal weakness of the 
patriot organization was made manifest. Different lead- 
ers had notions inconsistent with each other, and divided 
councils led to indecisive action. The brunt of the com- 
ing engagement was left to one tenth of the patriot 
forces. Scarred veterans scented the battle from afar, 
and hastened to the front to share the danger and the 
glory. With no command, officers were content to act 
as volunteers and handle muskets. Putnam, with mili- 
tary foresight, took charge of the line of communication, 
and with true farmer instinct he converted two rail-fences 
and a field of new-mown hay into a line of serviceable 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 259 

breastworks reaching across Cliarlestown Neck into the 
country. 

35. At day-break the astonished Britons gazed upon 
this vision of the night. A moment's pause, then instan- 
taneous, rapid action. That nocturnal growth threatened 
their very Hves. Those audacious and insolent rebels 
must be swept from existence. Without orders the Bos- 
ton battery at Copp's Hill opened upon the redoubt as 
soon as it was discovered. Ships in the bay poured in 
furious broadsides. The cannonade awoke Boston from 
her slumbers. Citizens half dressed rushed into the 
streets. Every roof and steeple that commanded a 
view of the scene was soon crowded with anxious 
spectators, who remained there during the livelong day. 
Patriot and royalist mingled, and fierce passions and 
wordy wars accompanied the progress of the conflict out- 
side. Exultation at patriot success was often too great 
to be suppressed, and wild cheers sounded from the 
house-tops and echoed through the streets. 

36. So passed the forenoon. The little band on the 
hill, protected by the earth- works, worked on with speed 
and safety. The hurtling masses of iron aimed at their 
destruction either buried themselves in the yielding earth 
or passed overhead without injury. One man only paid 
with his life the penalty of his curiosity in looking over 
the breastworks. An early luncheon was served and then 
work again. But even iron muscles have their limit of 
endurance, and the earth-walls grew less rapidly as the 
day wore on, until at high noon work altogether ceased. 

37. But what of the enemy ! By this tim.e they are 
aware of the uselessness of their cannonade. Other and 
stronger measures must be taken, and that on the instant. 
The military renown gained on so many battle-fields 
must not be lost in a conflict with rude peasants — the 



260 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

best point of vantage in a general war must not be lost 
to the king. Every sentiment of ambition and loyalty 
urged to action. A ship dropped down the river and 
took position to command Charlestown IS^eck. But the 
rail-fence and the new-mown hay resisted the shock, and 
the American line remained unturned. Rough old Put- 
nam's foresight became an important factor in the day's 
conflict. 

38. Suddenly the di'um's loud beat and the shrill 
scream of the life startled all hearts into a fiercer life. 
The notes, with no tremor of fear, rang out sonorous, 
triumphant. For centuries such notes had led Britons to 
victory, and to-day British soldiers will do or die. Four 
thousand grenadiers, under Lord Howe, march down to 
the shore with the quick, elastic tread of soldiers upon a 
holiday excursion. In that resolute front and precision 
of movement there was little to raise the spirits or inspire 
hope in the hearts of the thousands of patriotic observers 
who were watching the movements with feverish anxiety. 
In perfect order they embark, and in perfect order they 
land upon the Charlestown shore. In their advance 
toward the silent redoubt no line wavered and no step 
faltered, though every man was aware of the fearful peril 
before him. 

39. "Within the little earth- work all was activity and 
expectation. Pomeroy, Stark, Putnam came to help — not 
to dictate. At the last moment General AYarren, from 
the State Committee of Safety, unable to conceal his 
anxiety, came and took his place in the ranks. These 
officers all outranked Colonel Prescott, but neither of 
them would take the command from the officer who had 
proved himself capable and worthy of it. Shovels and 
picks gave place to rifles and muskets, and, as experienced 
eyes glanced along the death-dealing tubes, grave smiles 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 261 

lit up rugged faces at the tliought of the welcome the 
enemy would soon receive. *' Be steady 1 Be firm ! " is 
the parting injunction of Putnam, as he takes his way to 
his command at the rail-fence. " We must conquer or 
die," is the sentiment of Warren, as he grasps the musket 
of a common soldier, showing to the last that noble pa- 
triotism which makes his name so dear to all who love 
their country. " Keep cool. Wait until you see the 
color of their eyes ! Aim at their red coats. Pick olf 
their commanders ! " are the fiery last commands of 
Prescott, as the scarlet column moved up the hill. Each 
soldier is in place, each eye unflinchingly is fixed on the 
enemy, and each right hand is pressed upon the musket, 
ready for the supreme moment. 

40. The batteries, which had been covering the ad- 
vancing columns, ceased as they neared the summit. An 
ominous silence succeeded the tumult of the preceding 
hours. No sound is heard but the short, quick words of 
command in the British ranks, and the steady tread of 
the marching files. The space had diminished to a few 
rods, and still a grave-like silence wrapped the redoubt. 
At the last moment had the hearts of the patriots failed ? 
Did the near approach of the red-coats deprive them of 
their courage ? " By the double-quick, forward march ! " 
rang out from the British lines. A sudden rush, and 
one deafening volley ! Was it lightning from heaven 
that struck down every man in their first rank ? Was it 
the earthquake's shock that left those long lines of dead 
heaped like grass before the mower's scythe ? The rear 
ranks, paralyzed by the terrible disaster, held their ground, 
but no human courage could withstand the fire that 
blazed fierce and merciless from tlie redoubt. A mo- 
ment's pause, and then a wild, headlong flight to the shel- 
tering boats on the shore. 



262 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HISTORY. 

41. As shouts of triumpli went np from thousands 
of sympathizing hearts, the contending forces were in a 
state of intense activity. Within the breastworks Pres- 
cott, cool, deliberate, masterful, watched every detail and 
directed every action. Warren, Stark, and Pomeroy put 
soul into every movement. Putnam defended his own 
line, and sent the good news outward to cheer the thou- 
sands who had taken no part in the contest, and to urge 
immediate re-enforcements. In the British quarters new 
officers took the place of those who lay stretched on the 
hill-side ; the men were rallied and reformed ; new regi- 
ments came over from Boston, and again four thousand 
men breasted the hill and marched up to the breastworks 
with colors %ing and drums beating. This time they 
were permitted to come within the reach of friendly 
greeting, when again a solid sheet of flame leaped forth 
from the breastworks, again covering the earth with the 
dead. The rear columns for a few moments stood fast, 
but nothing could withstand that hail of shot aimed to 
take life, and again they fled to the shore. 

42. The day was wearing on. It was now five o'clock. 
If the Americans can hold on until the friendly darkness 
sets in, they may retain possession of Charlestown and 
force the British to evacuate Boston. General Ward was 
at Cambridge, trying in vain to secure order in time for 
action. General Knox ranged up and down the lines, 
frantically urging the men to follow him to the fray. 
Putnam, blazing with excitement and fully comprehend- 
ing the danger, was everywhere animating and urging on 
the fresh troops. [N'ow he sent almost frantic appeals for 
powder ; now he implored the men in reserve to move 
at once, and now he rallied his own men to repel the 
attack upon his own lines. A considerable force was at 
last rallied to march, but upon reaching Charlestown 



LEXINGTON AND BUNKER HILL. 263 

Neck the firing from the British ships was so deadly that 
they dared not venture to cross. In the redoubt was the 
courage of despair. The powder had given out, and for 
many of the muskets only a single cartridge remained to 
meet the coming charge. But all remained firm while 
the sun slowly sunk in the west. 

43. After their second repulse, the force under Lord 
Howe, cowed and demoralized, refuse to again advance 
into the jaws of death. The idea is gaining ground that 
the rebel position is impregnable, and that a wise policy 
demands that no more blood shall be shed in a vain en- 
deavor to reduce it. The impetuous Sir Henry CKnton 
refuses to take this view of the situation, and his counsels 
are heeded. Every mihtary resource at the command of 
Greneral Gage is now brought into requisition. All the 
ships in the harbor are ordered to direct their fire upon 
the fort and the line of communication. JN^ew batteries 
are erected by competent engineers to sweep through the 
outer breastworks and render them untenable. The re- 
serve forces are ordered up, and every available man is 
in the ranks. The charge must nov/ be made on every 
side and the Kttle band of eight hundred literally crushed 
by numbers. All this and the final charge must be made 
within the few hours of remaining daylight, or British 
power is forever at an end in America. 

44. At last all preparation ends and the time for ac- 
tion arrives. Shot from the new batteries drive the de- 
fenders with severe loss within their interior defenses. 
The advance of the swarming enemies is met with a feeble, 
scattering fire in place of the volleyed death of the previ- 
ous charges. Showers of stones and blows from clubbed 
muskets greet those who first mount the ramparts ; but 
nothing could resist the last desperate bayonet charge of 
the British. The defenders of the fort slowly and sul- 

12 



264 TEN GREAT EVENTS IN EISTOET. 

lenlj retired before the overwhelming numbers of their 
adversaries. At the last moment Major Pitcairn meets 
his death, and thus expiates as far as possible his bloody 
orders at Lexington. At nearly the same moment Gen- 
eral Warren, in the very rear of the retreating troops, is 
shot, sealing with his life his devotion to his country. 
That the retreating Americans were not annihilated was 
due to the rail-fence of General Putnam, and to his skill 
in holding the enemy in check while the flying fugitives 
found safety in the country. 

45. The battle of Bunker Hill is ended. The union 
jack flies over Prescott's redoubt. Four hundred and 
flfty patriots and flfteen hundred Britons are killed, 
wounded, and missing. Eighty-nine British oflicers — 
numbers unprecedented — sleep in the dust. Patriot cour- 
age and endurance are found to equal patriot enthusiasm. 
Technically the battle is lost ; morally it is won. Where 
Warren fell a nation is born. The Fourth of July re- 
cords the fact — Yorktown attests the record. A nation 
is born — from the Pilgrims inheriting love of freedom, 
from stout Roger Williams toleration — a nation charged 
with the sacred mission of organizing human rights upon 
the basis of human liberty. 



THE END. 



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